


Cold Hearted

by Xythia



Series: Cold Hearted [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, FrostIron - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not Spider-Man: Homecoming Compliant, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, Not Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Compliant, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Rough Trade, alternative universe, not wanda maximoff friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-02-08 21:58:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 131,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12873870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xythia/pseuds/Xythia
Summary: Sometimes the best defense is indeed a good offense. Which means, if you ask Tony Stark, that you should give the most Machiavellian, twisted and ruthless bastard you've ever met every reason to act in humanity's best interest.





	1. Cold, dark and dusty (obscure)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silver_drip](https://archiveofourown.org/users/silver_drip/gifts).



> My nano/rt project. I will include movie canon (or my interpretation thereof) including Captain America: Civil War, going Alternative Universe afterward. I don't watch TV and I've never read a Marvel comic in my life. I'm Civil War Team Ironman, don't expect me to be nice to Rogers and his friends. Old Norse Myths are my playground but not my gospel. Not a native speaker. 
> 
> This is the Beta read version. Very special and heartfelt thanks go to Silver_drip who practically held my hand through November and is a huge reason why I did not went insane. You are the best! Silver has beta read this and hunted down lots of mistakes. All remaining ones are my fault alone.
> 
> I will do my best to update this friday & tuesday.

_19\. July 2016_

_New York_

 

“It has to be here somewhere...”

“Maybe I can help you, Boss?” a female body-less voice inquired.

Tony's hands stilled, abandoned tearing the huge old storage cardboard box apart and littering his workshop with anachronistic crap, mostly dusty notebooks. He would never understand how his father could have liked and used those impractical things. Yes, in the 1970s computers were in their infancy and slow – but writing your ideas down on paper was slow and boring. He held up one book sporting a linen spine and yellowed pages.

Notebooks, the stone age version, not the clunky ones with at least some rudimentary memory software. He would take this as another confirmation that in the battle of genius versus genius, Tony would always take the crown against Stark senior. If it had been him, he would have improved and revolutionized computers instead of concentrating on designing weapons.

Tony shuddered and shoved a few already discarded notebooks further away from his precious technology in case the rot was contagious. He loved living in the age of computers and taking them to a new level. In fact, hadn't that been exactly what he had done? And gone one step further by creating functional AIs like JARVIS-

The genius engineer swayed like some drunken sailor - which nope, no alcohol for Tony Stark, sober is the new black- and sat back down fully, if a little involuntarily, on the floor abandoning his former crouched position. Crawling around on the floor, all that stretching and bending might have been one of his more idiotic ideas. His muscles and poor abused chest agreed with that assessment and he wheezed shallowly to get more air into his lungs.

It was the fourth week after returning from Siberia half dead: one week in a hospital bed with Helen Cho and her Cradle making sure that his rebelling heart didn't finish what Rogers had started. Another week, still flat on his back with too much time to think. And when he wasn't lost in his own head he'd been pestered by people asking questions every halfway lucid minute – and people wondered why he now wanted to do anything  _ but _ rest.

And why he had returned to his tower where he was able to control how many people had access to him. Stark Tower. That had been one of his first actions, taking back what was his by giving the building its rightful identity back. The only thing Pepper had said - for once with no complaint about public outcries and pissed off shareholders! - was: "Finally!"

Tony looked around. Every one of his workshops was unique and reflected the current main focus of the mad inventor. This one was the first that had been designed for Iron Man's needs, but it had lacked the truly personal touches and customization that made it feel organic until the engineer had moved into his tower full time.

Sometimes, only constant use could point out practical issues with floor plan and organization, no matter how thorough the planning had been done. He hadn't used the workshop much after the Chitauri invasion and the successful repair of the tower. By then, the compound had demanded nearly all of his time and the tower lab had mainly served as an escape, a side lab. Now his bots slept in their charging station, his suits - he mourned marks he had blown up after Killian - held pride of place in their display cases and Tony could navigate the floor in the dark without having to think of every step without bumping into anything.

His workshop was his sanctuary and the middle of the night his refugee. No calls, no concerned Pepper and finally room to follow up on the ideas and strategies he had tentatively formulated while fighting for his life in the hospital.

“No need to sound so concerned Fri, not that I'm not happy that you are making leaps and bounds when it comes to developing emotions. In no time you'll be the AI version of Franny Fine. With less make-up and a voice that isn’t grating.”

“Thank you, Boss. I'll do my best to not disappoint you in any way. But I have to disagree on your initial assessment, I do think that I could be of assistance with your search.”

“Baby girl, I had to dig through this nonsense for the first time years ago and it has been in storage since, without any organisation or index added. It was before your time, so I doubt you'll be able to shorten this specific scavenger hunt.”

“Of course you are aware that, even if it was, as you say, before my time, I do have access to copies of the surveillance files reaching back 15 years and more?”

The soft Irish lilt always made him smile, tainted with wistful longing, but smile nonetheless. Yes, he was aware. What she lacked was all the context that should be intertwined with the information.

Tony pressed his lips together and picked up another notebook. This one had a faded blue cover and he scrutinized it distrustfully, paged through it. It joined the discarded heap in short order.

“You are very insistent today, Fri.” The next papery offender was minimally outside his reach, with the sadism inanimate objects often delighted in displaying. The halfway healed stitched wounds on his lower back sent some painful warnings to his brain. They wouldn't approve of any strenuous activity, like bending sideways. Well, that happened to a human body when hard metal got cut up and was subsequently pushed into soft vulnerable human tissue underneath – it cut to the bone, and sometimes didn't even stop there.

“Dr. Cho recommended further bed rest, which you might go back to sooner if you are finished here faster. It would be best for your wounds to knit back together correctly.”

“More inactivity will drive me crazy. Eh, some would say too late for that to be a concern, but whatever,” Tony mumbled and, just to share the pain, threw one of the objects he already knew were useless over his shoulder into the shadows of his half lit workroom. His brown eyes closed for a bit and his lips twitched when he heard the impact – and a questioning electronic beep and the sound of moving machinery.

“It's not on fire Dum-E, but if you want to play, go ahead and correct that little oversight!”

The beep grew in volume and excitement.

People who envied him his eidetic memory had no idea what a pain in the ass - OK, the head - that could be. Just because everything he ever read was filed somewhere in his genius brain didn't mean that he would be able to recreate it on the fly. There were so many flighty little details that he never payed attention to the first time he saw them until he turned around and they suddenly gained importance – especially if it was only a glimpse, a faint whips of an idea.

In the background a high powered wet hiss resonated, followed by a triumphant thrill.

_ Hah _ ! Determination for the win. Tony snatched the slim volume and paged through it with renewed fervor. It was another one of dear Howard's old expedition files, documenting his personal thoughts on his voyage and experiences in the Arctic somewhere around Christmas 1979. How unsurprising that the man had preferred his endless search to spending the season with his family. Stark senior had always insisted that the thicker ice supported heavy machinery better in winter – not that he didn't go in summer as well, for reconnaissance reasons, of course.

Tony slowed down, more reading than skimming and his eyes narrowed to sharp slits.

“Tony! I thought you're in bed, sleeping.”

Ah, the sound of the opening door must have been drowned out by the bot party in the background. It sounded like U was trying to corral Dum-E. Tony didn't have to look up to know how fast his best friend was approaching. The sound of rubber wheels on tiled floor was very distinct.

“Friday, no warning that we're having a visitor, shame on you! Or are you collaborating with my minders to keep me in bed? And not even for fun reasons!” Tony teased.

“Tones...”

“I can sleep when I'm dead, platypus.” Tony added some extra cheer, his eyes never leaving the pages he was studying so intently. He tilted his head, then tilted the little book instead. His father's handwriting left much to be desired and - just like Stark, the younger and improved version, his dear old dad had developed his own shorthand and personal terminology, even if it wasn't as complex and elaborate as Tony's own. It made deciphering the expedition notes more difficult than strictly needed though, how inconsiderate. Typically Howard, eh?

“Not funny, Tony, not funny at all!” James Rhodes maneuvered his wheelchair adeptly through the papery battlefield to reach his best friend and glare down at him accusingly.

Tony hummed.

“If you are working on another upgrade for my leg-bracers – I'd rather you sleep! The bags under your eyes are sporting twin-bags. You're not rocking the raccoon look. And, not to complain, but more tech in those bracers and I'll be able to fly to the moon instead of going to the supermarket.”

Rhodey sounded more amused and exasperated than annoyed and Tony looked up to return the smile. It froze on his face and Tony turned back so fast that his neck cramped and sent violent pain signals in protest.

The slightly distorted view from the corner of his eyes had accomplished what direct stares could not, and aligned the nonsensical squiggles into something else. He might have tried this way sooner, if he hadn’t forgotten how foggy and arching the heavy metal poisoning had made him the first round with these books. Honestly, the first time reading this he had suspected that this was an engineer version of cloud-shape guessing. Which was, in a way, closer to the truth than past-Tony could have imagined.

“Does this mess look modern and awesome enough to be about robotics? Ah.” Tony absentmindedly tried to follow up on the conversation with his friend while his brain was occupied elsewhere. Then he crowed triumphantly. “I knew it. Well, there you are...”

“No, this doesn't look like your usual style, Tones.” A reflection on a window told Tony without him having to look up that Rhodey was staring at the scattered, old fashioned objects, lingered on one empty leather suitcase. “Too suburbia yard sale, it doesn't match the high tech decor.”

Rhodey didn't react and only waved one hand negligently, he was already back too deep into the squiggles in black and blue intermixed with hand drawn diagrams on the lined page.

“Fri? Scan this page and project it on my holo-table. Rhodey?”

“What?” Rhodey crossed his arms and grinned, observing the rather pathetic figure on the floor.

“Gimme a hand, OK?”

“My feet might be useless, but my arms are still strong.” The former military man smiled and put in the brakes of his wheelchair, braced himself and offered his right hand to pull his best friend upright while his left anchored himself to the a heavy tool cabinet.

“Next time, when you are falling unconscious due to sleep deprivation, I'll be able to drive you to your bedroom. First class service!”

Tony laughed and steadied himself, clapped Rhodey on the shoulder. “You won’t need that chair for much longer. And we established way back at MIT that you don't want me in your lap but I appreciate your sacrifice, really, I do.”

“Still not into white male midgets, sorry Tones.”

“Oh, how you wound me!” The engineer stared at the 3D rendering of the page, the original forgotten somewhere on the floor. The pen had created little furrows on the surface, now faded with age, and the sheet of paper itself wasn't smooth like modern paper.

“Fri, clean it up, erase everything but the drawn and written lines.” In this case they weren't likely to be part of the solution. His father hadn't tried to leave some elaborate puzzle behind. Tony was nearly a hundred percent sure that Howard hadn't even known the significance of his idle observations at all.

Tony studied the altered picture and with a decisive move of his fingers blew it up in size. Unfortunately Howard had used one page for at least four different overlapping sketches. The way it looked now it could have been one of Pepper's modern art acquisitions.

Tony snipped away some details, rotated the strange spiderweb. Then he called up a detailed satellite picture for comparison but dismissed it just as fast.

“Huh. The arctic circle, really? Hate to tell you the search has been over for years, and I wish it wasn't true, but we've found Rogers already.”

Tony stilled and turned his head. Rhodey had picked up the little book from the floor with the help of his assistant claw on a stick thingy and was leafing through the pages, the stick still in one hand. He had not wasted any time looking up the correct label because he refused to accept it as permanent. Another reminder of their new circumstances and another thing Tony would be erasing as soon as he could. The new half automatic leg-bracers he had designed for his now handicapped best pal were only the first step. Improving them further had to wait in favor of more research. The doctors had cautioned patient and mad inventor both that they should give the wounds more time to heal before they put too much pressure on Rhodey's spine and that they would overtax it with too much too soon.

Out of the corner of his eye Tony glimpsed back at the page and something clicked. Well, that method had already worked one time tonight. Sometimes all you need was an slightly different angle.

A hard and glittering smile bloomed on the Tony’s face. His fingers followed a dense cluster of lines in the hologram, teasing and caressing. “Bha, who cares about the Capsicle. My dad hunted for something ordinary and overlooked the real treasure.”

He clapped in his hands.“Fri, research options to make one of my armors impervious against cold and deep water pressure. You'll find some preliminary ideas and schematics on my private server. Use them as a point of reference. I'll review your ideas after some shut eye. Yep, sleep, to keep you all happy. I'll need my energy.”

“Do I dare to ask what for?” Rhodey looked at him cautiously.

“Everyone insists that I should take a break, thus I'm going on a holiday!”

Rhodey lifted one eyebrow.

“My kind of holiday, of course!” Tony's smile held a maniac edge.

.-#-.  
  


“If your beat up ass is ready for a vacation then mine is as well.” The former Colonel had looked like the proverbial immovable object and had insisted on accompanying Tony. He argued that he was perfectly able to be ground control in his brand new leg braces if Tony felt ready to climbed into his newest Iron Man armor.

The engineer hadn't protested too much, he liked the company of his best friend, even better when they weren't on some battleground or in the middle of a crisis.

The suit in question had been a source of tension between them. James Rhodes had taken one look while it was readied for transport. He inspected the unusually bulky form that was painted in slate gray with dark blue, nearly black accents and had become very thoughtful.

When asked, Tony had cheerfully admitted that the altered design was mostly due to the air-scrubbing system that wasn't as economically small as the engineer wanted it to be - _ give it time, it's a new field for me, Rhodey-bear!- _ and then ignored any question asked about the additional arc-reactor nodes that peppered the surface additionally to the traditional one sole centralized reactor.

Despite the two men's eagerness to escape their minders and start their adventure, it had taken another two weeks to get all their ducks in a row and the tech assembled, crated, and ready. Not to mention forcing all the little cogs of infrastructure into motion before Tony and Rhodey could board a private plane to Norway.

One of his two personal yachts, which Tony had sent in advance, was awaiting them there. It wasn't one of his fun-time vehicles despite its elegance and size, nothing that would fit among its proud cousins in Monaco: less party rooms (but still a stripper pole in the small saloon on aft) more space for a decently equipped laboratory and a workroom instead. The ‘Eleonora’ was Tony’s favorite kind of boat.

Pepper had only given in to let her quixotic ex-boyfriend go on this adventure instead of shackling him to the bed - _ Oh my, Miss Potts! _ \- after Rhodey had assured her that he would have an eye on Tony.

“Lot's of fresh air and no distractions. Fiddling with some old projects. It will be good for us both to relax away from any stressful reminders.”

She wouldn't have been so calm if she had a list of the assembled equipment they were taking along on their expedition. Most of it didn't fit any concept of a leisure trip, not even for Tony Stark.

Tony waited until the door had closed behind his favorite dragon lady and then couldn't help himself and giggled, slapped Rhodey on the shoulder.

“You made it sound like an innocent boy's night out. Or some retiree cruise.”

“You swore that it won't be another death defying hoopla. No hidden enemy labs, no bunker full of alien weapons. Just some reconnaissance. Don't make a liar out of me Tones!”

Tony didn't let himself get fooled by his best friends accusing look. “You desperately want to get away from all their fussing as well, don't you?”

Rhodey dropped the act and sighed deeply. “Yeah. If I have to sit still and hear another lecture on not overdoing it; if I wanted to schedule additional sessions with the shrink to work through my issues – I'll throw something against a wall and that wouldn't do me any good.”

Tony's reply was heartfelt. “Sing it, brother!”

The had enjoyed a peaceful day on the water and were half an hour away from their goal near an island called Jan Mayen. It wasn't some exotic location to write home about, just a huge piece of rock in the middle of the icy North-sea.

Tony was standing at the helm, without doing much but watching another one of his creations at work. He wasn't a fan of the ocean, never had been and thus he had reconfigured this yacht a long time ago so it was fully automated and didn't need a crew as long as the people on board didn't mind a lack of personal service. Flying, now that was another game entirely and he would cheerfully exchange this yacht for one of his suits. But alas, needs must. He hadn’t invented a heavy duty load-carrier Iron Man yet and he didn’t want to either.

The billionaire eyed the rough sea with her enormous waves and the icy winds encouraging even more breaking waves to shake the ship as if it was made of cardboard instead of high-tech fiber. Everything to give the poor little humans a taste of why mother nature was still nothing to laugh about. To think that the ancient vikings had crossed this watery hell on their way to Greenland in wooden death traps. Or had that been another tribe entirely?

Tony shrugged his shoulders and concentrated on more important things. “How are the braces working? No problem with finding your sea-legs?”

“No problems at all, they even fit under my thermo-trousers without chafing. You haven't told me yet what you are searching for exactly?”

“And you won't know until we've found it. I trust you, but you know how it is. Didn't want the wrong sort to grow too curious about my little project.” Which had been another point in favor of this boat and its lack of crew.

“I'm going to suit up, the board computer and Friday should easily be able to hold our position."

“Of course, Boss, nothing will happen to the ship or Colonel Rhodes under my watch,” the AI's voice chirped out of the on-board speakers.

.-#-.

Tony lazily circled the island high up and eyed the milky white fog that clung to everything like the expensive kind of shaving foam.

Jan Mayen was traditionally very clouded with bad weather and apart from a few stubborn inhabitants clinging to the miserable rock and some meteorological research scientists, nobody really bothered with this island. Or got a clear view of it. It was shrouded in fog nearly perpetually. Must have been quite the fluke for his dear dad to explore this region on a clear day with his little airplane and be bored enough to doodle the scenery in detail.

“We're on another country's turf. Has the Accords Council given you the go ahead?”

Tony had wondered how long it would take his friend to bring up that question. “I've become a paragon of law and order, didn't you get the memo? Yep, some of them know what I'm planning and they approve – somewhat.”

“Some and somewhat?”

“The sub council that deals with Iron Man is aware of the mission. The rest of the council thinks that I'm doing some typically Stark shaped, hair brained, self-appointed sort of PTSD therapy involving snow and ice.”

“Hm.” Rhodey didn't voice his opinion about that, which was telling in and of itself.

“OK, I'll never be a fan of the cold and nobody will see me voluntarily in St. Moritz.”

“But?”

“It's not in the top ten of issues that are likely to cause me flashbacks.”

The Iron Man suit was now flying nearly at sea level and along the east coast of the island, Tony's left gauntlet skimming the crown of the waves. He had forgotten how invigorating flying just for the joy of it could be. He couldn't help himself and accelerated to cut through the more towering gray waves like a bullet and laugh in wild abandon. The thick fog added to the surreal impressions.

“Will you let me in on the secret or am I just freezing my butt off watching you play with the ocean?”

But Rhodey was laughing alongside him and Tony commanded Friday to send a live feed of his HUD to Rhodey's laptop. The giddy engineer wasn't feeling any pain anymore, Tesla bless endorphins and he was seriously tempted to say fuck you to his schedule and make an extra lap around the island instead of continuing his adventure. Daylight wouldn't make a difference within a single minute after crossing the waterline and diving down.

Tony added a stylish looping so he didn't overshoot his calculated ideal entry point into the water. Considering that he wasn't at his best it would be more responsible to conserve energy and not waste it on a joyride. Tony pouted, groaned and abandoned the little side trip in favor of diving dutifully.

“Come on, Tony?”

“I'm on a super special fishing excursion! It's a little bit of a scavenger hunt and to be honest, I won't be too surprised if nothing comes out of it.”

Tony was reluctant to think too much about why he was so hesitant to disclose everything to his trusted best friend but this adventure was skirting the line between professional and private endeavors and the two of them had learned the hard way to keep that separate to avoid conflict of interest. Even the brass had finally got it into their hard heads that no, when Colonel Rhodes told them that Tony Stark hadn't given him details about one of his more interesting projects, Rhodes wasn't telling them lies out of loyalty to his friend. It afforded them both the security blanket of plausible deniability.

There was also no question about whether or not Rhodes had made his own at least perfunctory inquiries about the legality of their current adventure, Rhodes was too much of a stickler for rules not to, and Tony didn't mind. Rhodey knew who to talk to on the Council and who to avoid.

And both of them knew what to do to keep up a polite fairy tale of obedience.

Tony glanced at the light in his HUD that signaled an open one sided data transmission and decided to ignore its implications. It wasn't a tight leash, at least.

Nobody was talking about it, but since he had fitted Rhodey with the latest version of the bracers last week and tested out the difference it made for his best friend's mobility, the ‘former’ label had all but disappeared in front of the title Lieutenant Colonel again. Therapists and doctors alike were astonished by his progress. It would be weeks, not months until the brass would insist on War Machine getting fully back to work.

He was on the northern peak-end of Jan Mayen and Tony was scanning the ocean floor for the crack he was fairly sure had to be there. It wasn't a big trench, that would have shown up on someone's radar much sooner. If Tony was right it was more of a big folded crack that ran deep halfway underneath the island.

It took him nearly twenty minutes and a lot of boring underwater vista but when he dove around a cracked cliff he was rewarded with a black hole. Not the kind he was usually interested in either, but he wasn't going to be choosy today.

“Going in.” Tony kept his voice steady – and kept one eye on the energy levels of his suit and the nice lights inside his HUD. Nope, snow and ice didn't bother him much. Dark and empty cold spaces were another thing entirely and Friday silently pointed out his raised heart rate.

“Don't tell me you are hunting for Godzilla. You're on the wrong side of the Earth, Japan is far away.”

“Nope. Close, but no cigar. The reception's still good?”

“Clear as crystal glass Tones. We should have equipped the DeepSea Iron Man with lamps though. That's really not a very entertaining view.”

“More light wouldn't have made it better. There's not much to see, tell me about it. It's mostly Fri who's navigating at this point.” Tony grumbled and pushed his thrusters to go faster.

Sunlight never reached this deep and his arc-reactor lights showed that he was currently traveling through boring murky water with little floating bits and dirty looking smears adding to the depressing surroundings. He kept himself busy watching the data Fri filtered and fed him.

“Not something we're going to recommend as a new favored tourist destination,” Tony mused.

The deeper he dove, the less room to move he got and after another hour and some change he was ready to give up and turn around to leave this dismal cave as fast as possible. Thankfully he wasn't dependent on re-pressurizing to the correct level to keep his blood oxygen in balance, Jacques Cousteau eat your heart out. Starks didn't build ordinary stuff, his armor wasn't some flimsy submarine.

“Boss. That wall, there's something wrong with it. The grain isn't consistent with the surrounding walls. The composition scans aren't conclusive either. They don't match anything in my archives.”

Tony trusted his girl and slowed down. If Fri said that something was worth his interest, he was very ready to take a look.

“Increase lights, fifteen percent,” he murmured, stretched to touch and prod. His breath hitched when the wall expanded under his metal palm. Ordinary rocks didn't do that, nope. A naked human eye or skin wouldn't have noticed it at all but his suit sensors registered the minute change, it was enough to bring a big delighted grin onto his face.

“Gotcha.” Tony studied the texture, watched how the water flowed and then decided to follow the direction where his hand snagged against, not with the flow. The cracks and furrows were creating regular patterns and he counted the distance between the dips and lows while he traveled down that special rabbit hole. The strange not-wall was bracketed by regular stone, overlapping the strange one. Like a cage.

He slowed down again and took a closer look at the edge. This wasn't a natural formation, stone didn't behave that way. The edge was too regular and rounded. It didn't expose, only giving a taste but holding the other material inside all the same.

“Can you send the IronRescue my way and navigate it on your own, Friday?”

“Sure Boss, the fastest course has been scanned and logged. I'm on my way.”

“Rescue? Do you expect trouble? Tony?” Rhodey didn't sound happy. “Oh, who am I kidding, of course there will be trouble. I should be more surprised that you've planned in advance. Seriously Tones, what did you get into now?”

“Don't worry, Platypus. You didn't guess what this is all about, I gave you plenty of hints?”

Tony poked the not-wall, stroked it with more pressure and heated up his palm repulsor to add to the sensation. The patterns had changed significantly, lightened in color and the movement underneath had increased.

A horizontal crack split in two and the blue lights of his armor illuminated a yellow, membrane covered orb, as long as a mini-van with a vertical black pupil behind that reflected his awesome slate gray armor back at him.


	2. Good Plans (not good enough)

 

“Whoa.” Rhodes echoed Tony's own exclamation.

Iron Man grinned widely behind his face-plate and then startled when the gigantic eye sluggishly refocused onto his helmet.

“Shh Rhodey, don't say anything. Fri, shut his link but display his words as messages on my HUD. And silent mode for you as well.”

The amber colored eyeball was giving off the impression of lethargy, the edges were slimy and the eyeball was moving slowly.

Tony activated his speakers but didn't turn them up very high in volume. If this creature had reacted because it heard the two men conversing via the Iron Man up-link - he didn't need to give it a headache due to noise. And make it angry. Angry would be very bad.

“OK. Next step, communication. A slow reaction is more than understandable, you must have slept for a long time and might not be too happy to be woken up, eh? No regular visitors down here either. I'd be cranky too. Can you blink once if you understand me?”

There was no reaction but a widening of the eye and an increased trembling under Tony's palm.

If he had read the collected data correctly, there was no danger to Tony. The gigantic creature wasn't here by choice and fairly helpless in its cage of stone. Which was unfair on a galactic level. Being stuck in a cave, deep underwater and unable to stretch your legs, even if you had none, that sucked.

Just because Tony didn't intend to hurt this being didn't mean that someone else with less scruples couldn't find it. Someone always wanted to know what had caught Tony Stark's interest and while it would be hard to dive this deeply, it wasn't fully impossible.

He investigated what he thought was the head of the creature but it was encased in the bedrock from the eye down. On the plus side, that meant no gigantic mouth to bite him but it also meant that the creature couldn't speak. It figured. He remembered that Fenrir was said to be laboring under a similar deal, but with a sword instead of a stone muzzle.

“Jormungand?”

That got him more of a reaction! The eye got round as a plate, the pupil dilated and contracted harshly in turn.

Tony licked his lips. Time to dig out his best Shakespeare impersonation and hope that he had the pronunciation down pat. “I mean you no harm. Blink once if Jormungand is your name.”

Rhodes' chat window had been suspiciously empty after a few transcribed outbursts about Tony's lack of self preservation instincts. Now a new line appeared. 'Fuck. Jor-whatever belongs to Norse myths. You are hoping for All-speak, that's what Thor has called it?'

Rhodes was correct, the engineer winked in the direction of where on his HUD the message program was displayed and knew that his gesture would be seen by his friend. He wanted to avoid confusing the big scaly creature outside with chatter to someone unseen and far away. In the meantime while waiting for a reaction he kept a close eye ...on the eye.

There was no blink from the creature, only more minuscule movement of the eyeball, Tony interpreted it as agitation.

This was something he had foreseen as a possible issue, but had hoped it wouldn't happen. Tony took a deep breath. His AI translating into Old Norse for him wasn't a good option. Again, two voices in one body might give the wrong message, hadn't he already established that little gem of wisdom? And this was Thor’s nephew, if the stories held true. It was unlikely that this wasn't Jormungand, he should understand the language. How many enormous creatures that resembled big snakes could there be hidden on Earth?

“Are you Jormungand? Blink once if the answer is yes. Twice if it is no,” he slowly spoke in Old Norse and winced at how strange the words sounded out of his mouth and filtered through the Iron Man speaker systems. No idea how water was additionally distorting the sound-waves.

Thank fuck that any language was, when push came to shove, just another system with variables and rules and thus something Tony delighted in mastering, as long as he could fire up enough enthusiasm to learn it. Meeting beings out of old myths qualified and naturally Tony had investigated and learned that particular language after the battle of New York. What he hadn't foreseen was that he would actively need to use that skill for the first time for something like this. Needs must, eh? It was do his best or hunt for Dr. Doolittle.

Everything was nearly silent while he waited, only the faint sounds of his suit and his own breathing added some noise and the engineer was ready to give up and turn around to come back when he had thought of some other way to communicate.

Then the ginormous lids closed with deliberation and opened again.

“Well met Jormungand. My name is Tony Stark.” Nope, he was not adding Howardson and his full name to fit the Norse naming conventions, there were lines he wouldn't cross. This was Earth, with Earth rules, not Asgard.

“I mean you no harm. I'm a Midgardian. Blink twice if you understand.”

The time span until a reaction came wasn't as long as before and the Midgard Serpent closed and opened his enormous eye two times.

“Our myths call you the son of Loki, is this correct?”

One blink.

Successful first contact, yes! Tony wanted to whoop and do a little victory dance but he reigned himself in.

They exchanged a few control questions and answers to establish that they were indeed communicating in a meaningful way. The slowness of the exchange was frustrating for creature and man both. Talking to someone whose only fully visible body part was an eyeball and who could only communicate between long pauses, lots of repetition and blinks – that was growing tiresome pretty damn fast.

One blink for 'yes', two for 'no', three for 'no idea' couldn't be that hard to comprehend, could it?

After trying to get a better idea about how big that creature really was with no satisfying answer, Tony started to suspect that it might be himself, his messing up the language, that was the problem.

“I apologize for my bad accent, some of my words might sound wrong or strange. I didn't have the best teacher.” Maybe he should have opened this conversation with that caveat.

The pupil grew big again and the trembling increased and Jormungand shrank back from where Tony was touching him with his gauntlet on the cheek.

“I apologize, I learned mainly by observing others using it and by studying old scrolls. It is an essentially self taught skill and I was never good at teaching, thus a bad teacher. I tend to be too easily distracted to be a good one.” Tony corrected hastily and silently cursed at himself. Sue him, this was the first time he actively used this stupidly archaic language and his range of vocabulary wasn't too good. And he should have known that trying to fib, even in jest, when in the presence of a son of the God of Mischief and Lies, was a bad way to make a first impression.

Snakey, Tony was not going to even think that big mouthful of a name any longer, calmed down again.

“I swear, even if it isn't binding like an Æsir vow, I'm not going to harm you unless you attack first. And I keep my promises.” Tony felt like an old vinyl record with a crack but - anything to build a good rapport.

“All right? All right. Forward it is. Next question: Serpent is not the form of your birth? One blink for yes, two blinks for someone else transformed you, three for you shape-shifted yourself?”

Second option was the right one and did that surprise the brunet? No. No intelligent creature with any sense would spend half an eternity as a giant serpent voluntarily. Ginormous snake was such an impractical shape. Unless you wanted to swallow the sun, but that was another sibling and animal entirely.

Oh, he hoped he'd never meet Odin in person. The All-father was the most likely culprit for Jor being stuck into stone. Tony's smart mouth and his own daddy issues would get him into mortal peril so damn fast.

Now for the most difficult part; plus adding some speed, he had to finish this meeting. As awesome as his suit was, Tony was growing tired and didn't want to fall asleep on the way back.

Tony consciously blocked out Rhodes' corner of the HUD. His friend had provided encouraging commentary on the side till now. Tony's next actions wouldn't make the other man happy at all.

“I might have a way to free you.”

The reaction was immediate and violent.

Tony grimly eyed the cave walls that didn't even tremble a teensy tiny bit. He waited until Jor had calmed down again.“I can't promise success. But I demand a vow from you in advance before I try.”

The Midgard Serpent rolled his one visible eye and blinked rapidly.

Heh. Anything to get out of here, Tony could sympathize.

“You have to vow that you will not hurt any human on Midgard, ever, outside of defending yourself or if I give you permission. If you agree, repeat those exact words in your mind with intent.” He had kept it sweet and short and with no complicated sentence structure to give Snakey an easy loophole.

Tony risked a glance at his messenger corner of the HUD. His concentration was needed elsewhere, there was no time to scroll up and review everything Rhodey had flung at him but the newest lines made him sigh.

_ 'OK. Yes. That might actually work. _

_ Good for you. _

_ What a stupid plan otherwise, freeing that monster! _

_ I nearly had a heart attack! _

_ Fuck you Tones!' _

Really, people had so little trust in his plans! It was slanderous! Hello? Certified Genius here! He knew what he was doing more often than not.

After the huge row Thor had with Fury after the invasion everyone with ears should be aware of the magical vow deal when it came to citizens of Asgard making binding promises. The one-eyed leather clad pirate (not to be confused with the bearded space version) had been ready to spit nails when all he got in recompense for handing over goodies was Thor’s formal promise that Loki would be dealt with at home after being judged by the All-father. Nicky boy had wanted some kind of written contract and a lot of concessions instead. Something tangible he could offer the WSC to make up for the loss of the Tesseract and Loki.

A golden mist rose from out of the wall and enveloped the floating Iron Man suit like otherworldly tentacles, it was creepy. Even worse, those tendrils reached into the suit!

Tony had watched the Helicarrier security tapes and therefore had known what to expect in theory but – damn. He was hyperventilating until a strange warmth settled somewhere in his chest region, flared once and then dissipated.

Tony didn't want to repeat that too soon. Correction: never.

_ Fuck. _

He hated magic. The man of science swallowed convulsively to get the bad taste out of his mouth.

Thor was the first one to admit that he wasn't a seidmadr (which translated into spell-master), but he had been very stern and sure when he had explained that only one participant had to be an Æsir and both participants of a vow had to fully agree on the terms for the promise to work as a true binding.

Tony had been highly entertained while watching a recording of Fury chewing on that and the exact wording. It had taken spy and alien prince nearly three hours to agree. The conversation could have easily ended with the Helicarrier smashed to smithereens via a pissed off Thunderer at more than one point during the negotiation. Fury had a true talent for insulting people.

Now that Tony was sure that he wasn’t about to unleash a monster on the world nothing could convince him this was, like the story claimed, a reasonable preventative measure for transgressions Jormungand hadn't even committed yet. He would free this guy and if he had to invent some underwater stone melting or smashing device to do so, so be it. Another option was to contact the Sorcerer Supreme which was always a pain in the ass. First he had to see if his original plan was a bust.

Didn't he own an atoll somewhere in the pacific? That might be a good place for a gigantic serpent to relax until Strange and his buddies figured out how to reverse the forced shapeshifting.

“Will you be able to transform back to Æsir form on your own if I break the spell that is imprisoning you?”

A frantic, single blink.

One problem dealt with, no need for Strange. Point for Team Iron Man!

“Do not be alarmed, the suit of armor I'm in allows me to converse with people who are far away and you might hear their voices as if they are bodily here with us. I need their council to break the magic that is holding you captive.” Tony hoped that he had created enough rapport with Kaa that the guy would trust his explanations and not freak out again when hearing things he didn't understand.

_ Very well, on with the show. _

“Fri, did you get a good impression of that mumbo-jumbo energy?”

“Yep! The system is ready and primed, Boss, I'm only waiting for your command.”

“Scan for a cluster of the same stuff clinging to something in here, it should be similar in wavelength to the camouflage thing on Loki’s vambraces." The ones he had nicked off SHIELD.

“You sure about doing this Tones?” Rhodes softly asked.

“Do you want to leave poor Jorik inside this crappy jail? That must be against more than one section of the Geneva Convention!” Tony kept an eye on the progress of his girl's sensors and absentmindedly patted the stone cheek in front of him at the same time.

“If you wanted a house pet I would have bought you a cat.”

“To your right, slightly up. There is a knot of energy four inches above the divide between Jormungand's body and the stone.” Friday helpfully used a laser-pointer to quicken her creator's search in addition to marking it on the HUD.

“If you don't succeed-” Rhodey cautioned.

“I will, have a little faith!”

His friend sighed. “I don't want the island to come down on you and bury you both!”

Tony grinned like the mad person people accused him to be. “Puleeze, that's something I have taken into account! We're too deep underground – or is it underseas? - to create a huge disturbance and as big as Jor is, he doesn't have enough mass to to do more than cause a tiny spike on some scientist's seismograph. It will give the poor buggers upside something to counter their boredom. The rock is stable and won't collapse.”

“Next question, since when do you do magic?”

Tony sniffed with disdain and stared at the piece of rock Friday had led him to. Her scans indicated that he was looking at real stone that covered the temple of the gigantic beast.

“Magic, bah. I don't do magic. I insist that it is technology we don't understand yet.”

“Tony; Magic serpent, magic spell holding it in place. Sounds to me that you'll need a magic solution! Which leads to damn pissed off serpent if you don't fulfill your end of the bargain. With the way your luck is holding it's an ancient serpent that can hold a grudge for a fucking long time.”

“Nope, wrong conclusion, Einstein. No magic is needed. I'll stay far away from alien hocus pocus. All I need is a neutralizer. Good for us and Kaa, I've already invented one of those some years ago. Neat, isn't it?”

Was that a pattern he saw, something that wasn't natural to the rock formation? He fired up a little light in the tip of the index finger of his gauntlet and hoped that Rhodey wouldn't catch the similarities and start calling him IT.

And, what did he know, his girl had been right on the money. Ancient looking runes didn't grow naturally 20.000 Miles under the Sea.

“Platypus, cross your fingers and hope that it is straightforward answer instead of the more complicated one. I'm not a contortionist.”

“STOP!” Rhodey still had his command voice down to an art form.

Tony stilled.

“You've planned for freeing this being and taking him with you back to the mainland and later the USA, hence the Iron Rescue. By the way, that's a sweet little invention. I asked Friday for the schematics. I can think of many missions where it could have helped a lot. How about actively using all that forethought and actually waiting for the pod's arrival, hm?”

Tony laughed. “Yeah, OK, Thank you. That's why I love having you on my adventures. Sometimes it's the details that get away from me. Fri, ETA?”

“15 minutes, Boss”

“Good work,” he cheered and decided to use the extra time to reassure his new ally. A little push of his repulsors and he would be back near the seal.

The eye had half closed during his absence but opened fully and focused on Iron Man readily.

Another switch to Old Norse was needed. “I have to wait for the arrival of one of my creations before I can begin. We will be able to talk better soon, one of the first things I will try is to teach you the language that is currently used in many parts of Midgard.”

Tony hoped that Snakey had inherited his father's intelligence, preferably without the manic edge. Well, hopefully it wouldn’t be his problem.

The council had already selected a team of psychologists to help Jormungand deal with modern Earth. Tony had avoided too many questions that might have been too personal in his initial Q&A session with Jor, anything that might have riled the snake up. Therefore, the mad inventor preferred to entertain the guy with tales of innovation and how humans were quite the industrious race even if they didn't live to reach Methuselah's age. Jormungand would experience severe culture shock with or without Tony's personal version of an abbreviated guide to humanity, but nobody could say that he hadn't done his part to breach the gap.

The light that suddenly floated the cavern was a welcome contrast to the perpetual murky darkness. Fri, perceptive baby AI that she was, had even thought to dampen the single headlight that adorned the Iron Rescue to avoid blinding her creator and the serpent. The machine was drop shaped with clean lines flowing across its surface and accentuating the porthole, the lights and the repulsors that served as propulsion. It was small enough to maneuver in most any circumstances and environments, big enough inside to carry two adult humans to safety if they didn’t mind huddling together. One of Tony's more functional designs. It wasn't as elegant as one of his beloved suits, but what was?

“OK, we're ready to rumble!” Tony waved cheerfully good bye and then resumed his former position and extended his right palm towards the sigil, firing up the repulsor.

"Tony?!?”

“Sheesh, not gonna shoot.” Tony narrowed his eyes and pushed more power into his palm without releasing a blast. The rune-cluster didn't respond in any way.

_ Damn. _

“The hard way it is. I should have tried that first, it is always the hard way.”

Tony's rather exaggerated sigh made Rhodes on the other end of the line chuckle in sympathy. The engineer waited until the Arc had reabsorbed the energy and then he dug his metal fingertips into the stone and reeled the armor horizontally alongside the prisoner's body, his chest level with the rune-cluster. The lock, because that was what Tony suspected it to be, was so far up near the ragged ceiling that he wasn't able to do this upright, his shoulders and head would be in the way. It took a lot of wiggling and flailing to perfectly align the runes with his chest and reactor.

“It's not a side effect I intended it to have, but something about my little mechanical heart negates magic if it comes in direct contact. Lemme tell you Rhodey-bear, that turned out to be a welcome surprise when battling a certain Norse God. Otherwise I'd have ended as another puppet and that would have been very bad for New York.”

He could hear the exasperation for his shenanigans in his dear friend's laughter.

“Let's try again.” Tony did his best to hold steady while Fri operated his suit. He pressed down hard and gritted his teeth. Maybe one good thing had come from the need to put that fucking metal tube back into his chest cavity after getting cut up by a freaking metal Frisbee.

“Fuck!”

A sudden blinding golden light made Tony press his eyes together, only to wrench them open again when the world around him went violently topsy turvy. His ears were ringing with the automated warning sounds of the armor and Rhodey's concerned shouts.

Something crashed against him, something his sensors identified as warm and living and he caught that body, because what else could it be and let Friday operate the systems. Yes, well, he had planned for this because of course the water would rush to fill the space where a huge body had been only seconds before. The engineer trusted his AI to keep Iron Man and Rescue from being sucked too far off track.

His back slammed painfully against a rock wall and he curled protectively around the body in his arms.

“That could have gone better,” Tony exclaimed.

“No shit,” Rhodey echoed the sentiment.

Tony looked down.

Stared.

And then panicked.

Because he was holding a little kid. He had counted on Jor being the Æsir equivalent of a young adult or a late teen, instead he looked at a naked child that looked barely five years old.

TBC

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The arc reactor will be explained later. Sry for the cliffy.  
> And I lied. I'll update whenever I feel like a chapter is ready.


	3. Up, up! (to the surface)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My laptop died. And my town's sole internet café closed six years ago. My library has computers without keyboard (we are not your street office!?!). I nearly went insane.  
> Because someone asked: I haven't read any comics, my Tony Stark is based on the movie version. He get's along with kids on a short term basis but he doesn't have any active parenting experience.

 

“Rhodey! Fuck!” Tony lessened the hold he had on the kid. Had he crushed the fragile looking body? Iron Man wasn't calibrated to handle delicate things! Like small squishy people.

 

And they were deep underwater!

 

With a young child – in the water!

 

Without fucking air to breath!

 

“Tony!”

 

“I thought Jor would know if it was safe to transform back!”

 

“Is he alive? Friday, check. Æsir are a hardy breed,” Rhodey tried to sooth.

 

“Isn't he technically supposed to be something else? Not Æsir. According to the stories...” The comment escaped his brain to mouth filter while Tony altered his grip again when the water battled him for possession of the small body.

 

“Don't invite trouble. Loki survived a beating by the Hulk, and this is Loki's son.”

 

Not only son: damn young son.

 

_ Oh fuck. _

 

The AI was the only one who sounded calm. “His heart is beating but he isn't breathing. The suit's sensors indicate that he is holding his breath, maybe automatically.”

 

It couldn't have been too long to suffocate and as Rhodey had remarked, aliens weren't easy to kill. Tony had located Iron Rescue and was hurrying to reach the rear end of the submarine where the shuttle port was located.

 

“He's turning blue. That's not good.” Tony exclaimed and pressed his precious cargo against the opening, all sensors focused on what he was doing. The boy looked so small and the light emitted by the genius' reactor and the pod's lights cast a ghastly cold color on naked skin. At first Tony had hoped that this was why he saw blue skin but that had proven to be a futile hope. Jor was indeed turning a deep blue. Was lack of oxygen the reason or the bitter cold of the deep sea?

 

The port had been designed to admit passengers by folding around them and sucking them inside without admitting anything else. It was a nifty mechanism, no doubt. For once Tony payed the successful implementation of one of his innovative ideas no more attention beyond the relief that it was fulfilling its purpose.

 

“How do you get in there? You need to assist the kid, it's gonna be too long to reach the surface if he's not breathing,” Rhodey advised.

 

Tony carefully pressed both his gauntlets against the scuttle, slowly pushing them inside and following with his arms. “Already on it. I designed this, remember? And not for a one time deal either so it works with Iron Man.”

 

The original plan had included one content former prisoner within the pod and Tony hooking himself onto the outside of the Iron Rescue to hitch a ride back to the yacht. So much for his plans.

 

The mechanisms inside the port were already working on dismantling whatever Tony fed them and he was slowly but surely – the best word to describe it was in fact devoured until half of the armor was inside and only his lower back, hips and legs were still outside and clamped in place, airtight. The last piece of his chest plate was folded away and Tony tumbled down into the secure passenger space of the Iron Rescue like a shrimp sliding out of its carapace.

 

Tony took care not to crush Jor in his fall.

 

“Kiddo?” Tony cleared his throat and tried again in the correct language while patting the small body. “Child?”

 

Tony hunkered down and clumsily reached for Jor, turning him to the side and listening if he could hear him breath. The skin was only slightly blue, smooth and very cold under his bare fingertips but he was happy to see Jor's chest move convulsively. Next second the little boy began to hack up a lot of smelly, brackish water.

 

“Yeah..yeah. That's great. Out with all the dirty water, you'll feel better,” Tony mumbled soothingly and with deep sympathy. He hesitantly rubbed over the heaving back, not sure how much pressure to use and kept up a string of comforting nonsense. He doubted that the kid would mind him rambling in English or Norse at the moment.

 

A final, desperate convulsion - but nearly no additional fluid and it looked like they were done, Jor was breathing heavily. Interrupted by painful hiccups, but he was breathing. The blue was fading.

 

“That's it, shhhh...”

 

Friday had projected a screen onto a clear section of the inner hull and when Tony raised his head towards the flickering light he was greeted by the face of his best friend peering down at them.

 

“What a mess,” Rhodey dryly commented and it provoked an evil glare from Tony.

 

“Yeah. Tell me all about it, why don't you.” Tony shuffled around and pushed his sweat soaked hair back, then fumbled for the latch of one of the inbuilt storage compartments. The two passengers were resting on a soft surface. The whole lower half of the inside of Rescue was padded and designed without hard edges to avoid additional injuries in case it was transporting banged up passengers.

 

“There has to be, I put- ...ah, there it is.”

 

His fingers curled around soft cotton and he wretched a simple black T-shirt out of its hideyhole. It was a piece of garment that would have fit someone much bigger than the little boy behind him. There were sweatpants and Tony had even been considerate enough to include underwear but it was all in the wrong size now. It was only useful as a rag to mop up the worst of the coughed up liquid and seawater before being thrown back carelessly into the cupboard and exchanged for a big fluffy towel.

 

“Let's get you dry and warmed up, hm?” Tony mumbled and pulled the kid into his lap. “Fri you can use the boot repulsors of the suit for additional speed, it is designed to work that way.”

 

“Boss, if there isn't any immediate health concern I would advise to not rush the journey to the surface. The systems are very good at dealing with blood oxygen levels but little Jormungand has been down here for a long time and might need a softer approach,” the AI cautioned.

 

“Ah fuck. OK.”

 

“Tony.” The reprimand was barely there, but it made Tony roll his eyes.

 

“Young ears, I get it. But he's not understanding English so let me vent. I deserve it!” Tony peered down and for the first time in what felt like forever had the time to really look at Jor in his human form.

 

The kid was still breathing heavily but without emitting wet sounds and he was lying halfway on Tony's lap and clutching the fabric of the man's dark gray under-suit. The kid's longish black hair felt dirty and oily and Tony didn't know what to do but brush the wet mess back with his fingers so it wouldn't hang into Jor's eyes. The skin was oily too. It might have been some greasy protection against the water but the stench and gray color made Tony’s stomach roll. He decided to try and carefully remove it. The formerly crisply white towel was now looking more like something out of his machine shop, Tony threw it aside and reached for a fresh one to resume his massage. 

 

“Maybe I'm mistaken, I'm no expert on little kids, but- aren't they suppose to be more ...chubby?” Pepper always pestered him with the different charity events and foundations and he had been forced to stare at a lot of pictures of miserable children in dire need of a good meal. Some of the human suffering he encountered as Iron Man had carved themselves into his memory, but never before had he held such a young kid that wasn't put there for the sole purpose of a quick PR picture. 

 

Jor's shoulders were bony, the joints visible under the unhealthy grayish-white skin, elbows, ribs and knees didn't fare better and Tony was quite sure that even an alien belly wasn't supposed to curve inside. The delicate spine - Tony could count the individual vertebrae.

 

“I've only stowed the pod with water, some dried fruit, nuts and isotonic beverages,” Tony bemoaned loudly, his complaints petering off, his eyes widened when Jor shook off his lethargy and began to climb the genius' body with jerky movements until he could press his face against Tony's neck and wrap his legs around the adult’s waist. Little but strong hands tugged desperately on the seams of his custom made under-suit to get it out of the way and Tony had problems to keep the wriggling boy contained without hurting the little barnacle.

 

“Fri, get Cho on the line!” he yelped, his eyes big and desperate for help and fixated on his new buddy's face. What did he know about aliens, even if they didn't look like the Chitauri? Maybe this kid was turning into a flesh eating slug and Tony was the first meal available after starving for a long time?

 

“It's very early morning in New York,” Rhodey commented but it was more of an idle observation because he was nodding as well.

 

“I don't care. This is clearly an emergency! I trust Helen and she'll have more of an idea than you or me. Have her- no, it will be faster if she meets us at the airport at home instead of her coming to Norway with us waiting for her to arrive and then the return flight still needed.

Kiddo has survived something like an eternity down here, she can coach us to get him home and take over then. Or she'll decide what we should do. Yes, that's it. Medical doctor and all. If she'll answer the phone. Please make her answer the phone...”

 

“He's not hurting you or biting you?”

 

“No!”

 

Jor had begun to keen desperately. It was a heartbreaking sound and Tony gave up the strange tug of war as long as he felt no teeth and accepted that the bony menace was trying to wriggle under his clothes.

 

“Let him,” a grim female voice sounded and the screen split to make space for the stern delicate face of Dr. Helen Cho. The field of view allowed the others to see that she was clothed in her PJs.

 

“Oh thank God. Hi Helen? What did you say? Let him?” Tony was incredulous and raised his voice to be heard over the rising racket the kid was making - but he began to open the magnetic locks on the upper-body part of his suit one-handed and wriggled until he was sitting there naked to the waist. The whimpering lessened and the kid pressed in and slowly calmed down.

 

“Good to see that you can follow instructions – sometimes. Stark, diving in icy waters was not what I meant when I said you need a vacation.”

 

Tony moaned and let his head sink back for a moment, his arms securely wrapped around his trembling package. His hands, his trusty, strong hands that knew how to touch and how to wretch and how to create – they fluttered and flailed and didn't know what to do.

 

“Friday gave me the reader's digest version and is still sending me details in message form. Stark, I've never known someone else who gets himself into such strange situations. I hate doing a consult from far away, but to me what you are dealing with at the moment looks like a horrible case of skin starvation.”

 

“Skin hunger?” Rhodey murmured thoughtfully.

 

“Not just huger; you heard me correctly. Starvation. In extreme cases it can lead to death as surely as lack of nutrition. Kids don't thrive without touch,” Dr. Cho lectured in her rough but melodic voice, her dark eyes soft and full of compassion. “And I guess he's been all alone for a very long time.”

 

“And now I'm playing Tony the Teddy. Great,” Tony bitched but his heart wasn't in it.

 

“Is he dehydrated?” Helen asked.

 

Chapped lips rough against his neck, check. Pulling the skin back from one of the barnacle's upper arms with his fingertips, the letting loose and watch how it slowly retracted – if there was one healthcare thing the engineer knew a lot about it was identifying dehydration.

 

“Yep. textbook case, as long as it's the same rules for aliens. Are you sniffing me kid?” Tony whined. “You're not all roses and violets either. Operating that armor is hard, sweaty work, lemme tell you.”

 

“Friday, send me a list of the available resources on that vehicle,” Cho commanded and the way her eyes focused on something to the left of the screen indicated that her wish had been granted.

 

Tony snorted, tightened his grip with one arm and then reached overhead to pop up the provision compartment. “I've got-”

 

The content tumbled down over the passengers. The small avalanche of bottles and packages made Jor shriek loudly and Tony curse. That had been like a small explosion going off directly beside his ear, fuck. Tonyr patted the flailing kid, with his eyes pressed close to alleviate the sudden headache.

 

“Hey, hey, calm down, everything's all right. Nothing bad happened, just our navigator taking a corner too fast and causing-”

 

Too bad, of course Friday was able to translate into English. “I must protest, the ride is smooth as silk. It's not my fault that your packing skills are lacking Boss!”

 

“Not the time, Fri!” Tony bit out and swayed from side to side until the horrible noise had lessened and he could find the energy to glare at the two human observers.

 

To their credit, neither Rhodes nor the doctor were showing any amusement.

 

Tony glare intensified nonetheless, those two couldn't kid him, nope. But his attention was promptly redirected by small cold fingers tugging at the short hair at his neck and then investigating his goatee. He stared. Jor was blinking up at him from up close. With big, dramatic amber eyes, framed by coal black wet lashes. A sigh escaped the genius.

 

“You're terribly keen on keeping my attention on you kid. And I've got to say, you're cute as a button, if I didn't know better I'd say that it's a defense mechanism.” Dirt, snot and a red nose kind of spoiled the picture though.

 

Jor blinked slowly, which made Tony laugh halfheartedly and reach for his Old Norse again.

“Let us try with words instead, I remember I promised you, hm? I guess you feel bad, does something pain you very much?”

 

Jor snuggled closer again and the engineer nearly didn't catch the whispered answer. “My throat aches.”

 

“His throat hurts,” Tony translated and waited for some professional advice.

 

Cho took the silence as her cue to take control of the situation. “He hasn't needed his voice for a long time and might have now overused it in his panic. The dehydration isn't helping. Throwing up is likely to have irritated his esophagus as well. We can't do much about it at the moment and I really don't want to give him any of the over the counter medicine you have on board without a throughout study of his blood-work. Ideally, I would recommend an IV port and saline solution. You didn't include Pedialyte...”

 

“Next time.”

 

“Apropos next time Stark, you should think about a built in beverage dispenser in your suit for long term missions. You look as if you aren't much better off than the kid.”

 

“Why do you think I included Gatorade in here? I don't like that shit, it tastes awful.” Tony groused. He wasn't as negligent with his health as his friends always accused him of. His brain, always interested in building new things for Iron Man, touched on the dispenser idea and he scoffed. That sounded nice but would be much too risky in practice, potentially deadly if the water tank was damaged and- nope. Bad idea.

 

“And I don't recommend that sugary drink for the child. But unlike our little patient you'll need the artificial energy rush. Drink half a bottle of the electrolytic and fill up the rest with some of the water you have, the beverage should be then sufficiently balanced for the kid.”

 

The brightly colored drink-bottle wasn't hard to spot and snatch, Tony used his teeth to open the collapsible cap and gulped down a good portion of the salty-sweet neon-orange drink as fast as he could to get it over with. It tasted exactly like he remembered: horrible.

 

Something pushed hard against the bottle. Tony sputtered and coughed and did his best to get the last swallow into the correct pipe.

 

“Must be a family trait. Not even half a day after meeting and you're trying to kill me, midget,” he wheezed and squinted at the kid who was fixated on the drink, pink tongue peaking out between thin lips.

 

“Oh come on, those eyes should be classified as weapons and I know what I'm talking about. Now I feel like pond scum. Just a little bit longer, you're getting some soon, don't look at me like that. This wouldn't be good for you, doctor's orders,” he tried to soothe and then looked away from the thirsty kid that had to watch while Tony drank more. Half of it, Helen had said.

 

One water bottle, one juice bottle, one clingy child and only two hands made for some creative juggling but Tony managed without spilling and grimly smiled at his success.

“Hooray for the engineer,” he commented, screwed on the cap one handed and offered the result of his labors to Jor.

 

“Don't give it to him. Feed him,” Dr. Cho commanded. “You have to control how fast he's drinking, which means very slowly and you shouldn't overload his tummy.”

 

The boy didn't try to grab, he seemed totally content to suckle and had showed no irritation with what had to be, for someone of his background, very strange in taste and delivery both.

Tony pulled all available blankets around them in a nest and Jor, when he felt the fluffy fabric at his naked body, pulled it close and didn't let go. The inclusion of that particular blanket had been a tongue in cheek fuck you to the Council originally. It was the only non-neutral thing the mad inventor had stored on the Iron Rescue and was fresh off the new Iron Man merchandise line. Colorful little comic robots were busily zooming across its surface.

Jor's other hand was keeping a firm hold onto his rescuer, amber eyes with an unearthly glow half closed.

 

“This is the strangest day. Ever,” grumbled the engineer.

 

.-#-.

 

Tony was happy to breathe fresh air. Robotic arms under Friday’s direction had heaved the pod onto the yacht and opened the top. With over half of the pod out of the way it was easy to climb out. Tony was wrapped in blankets like a burrito with himself and Jor as the filling.

 

“Friday, set course to Stort harbor. Platypus? What's with the strange face?”

 

Rhodey was staring at the docked Iron Rescue pod, his lips twitching like crazy “Don't know if you intended it but with the legs sticking out? It looks really, really strange.”

 

TBC

 


	4. Tap dancing (while sitting down)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *waves* Next one will be up Friday. I love Fridays. *grins at Silver* For obvious reasons. Big "Thank you!" to my beta for pointing at problems and hunting down my mistakes.

_He was falling again, his throat closed in terror and keeping the frightened shouts firmly inside._

_He couldn’t escape the darkness_.

_And the cold._

_The silence._

_The knowledge that he was not safe and never would be and that everyone he loved would-_

_-fall._

_And he would be watching, unable to warn and unable to prevent anything, caught in a never ending darkness, forever falling in a dead suit with no familiar blue glow to guide him home._

_Until he ended on a cold stone floor in his pajama bottoms._

_He owned pajama bottoms?_

_Picking on the material, looking at the stitched round shields that decorated the chain mail. Chain mail? That explained why they were so heavy, the garment was digging uncomfortably into his hipbones and the metal links threatened to nip his cock in a decidedly unfun way. And they were fucking cold. But he needed those PJs because chain mail was an appropriate material to wear in a throne room._

_Especially one that was as medieval and opulent as the one he was standing in. Those shields though, the iconic red-blue-white ones, they would be inadequate for keeping him safe, they never were and he wanted his suit instead._

_To defend him from what?_

_His breath was forming mist in front of his mouth and he rubbed his arms over his ribs to generate some friction and warmth. At least there weren't any courtiers that would mock his shivering form._

_He looked around._

_How he hated stuffy old things and the uneven stone floor; heavy golden draperies that reminded him of the stage curtains at the Met. The one Pepper had forced him to attend and he had only watched the first act because-_

_he couldn't remember._

_“Hurt him.” A faint voice attacked him from all sides at once._

_Even the light was golden in this place but didn't make anything brighter, it only gave the shadows more power._

_Fog herded him forward._

_“Hurt him-”_

_Dum-E lumbered over the uneven floor and brought him fluffy slippers for his cold feet and placed them in front of him before disappearing in the fog, his mechanical arm bobbing up and down in encouragement._

_Of course there was a big ass throne up some stairs at the front of the room. And it was occupied by someone._

_“Hurt him and I will make you long for Hela's embrace,” one single voice, stronger than before, hissed into his right ear._

 

_.-#-._

 

A discreet peep sounded in the dark yacht cabin. Not loud enough to wake up a sleeping child but certainly at a volume that alerted dozing geniuses. Tony opened on eye to read the glowing message Friday had helpfully projected on the wall near his head. Time to face the music. 

Tony could feel the ship move under him and the waves battling the hull. Nature had decided that no, she wouldn't make it easier for mouthy billionaires and had stepped up her game, no matter what the forecast had promised for the night and the next day. The high tech boat had no problem with the wind and the fucking high waves but it made for an uncomfortable ride and a longer one to boot, because a shortcut via helicopter wasn’t possible either. No pilot wanted to brave the weather. They had to do it the classic way, which meant another four to six hours on the yacht until they reached Norway proper. 

No thunder, no lightning so their stormy misfortune was natural, not Norse God induced. 

Small mercies. 

Tony Stark couldn't say that he was happy about the Sokovia Accord Council policies he now operated under. Bureaucracy, he shuddered. One of the first new rules they had implemented was that every member of a team must be equipped with a body cam and the leader of a team would provide a live feed if ordered. All in the names of performance review, accountability, and transparency. 

The body cams were standard operating procedure in many European units and the only concession Ironman had enforced was that he would be the one to make sure that those lines were the most secure on Earth, that the supervision was mission only and wouldn’t touch his privacy and that he would have one of his AIs secretly monitor who was really watching.

 Not ideal, Tony didn’t like being under close scrutiny, but after getting burned more than once with the blame game he had no objections to having them be able to watch him live in action.

Tony smiled thinly. He was Ironman, he was always better live in action! 

And if push came to shove – he wasn't a genius when technology was concerned for nothing and manipulating or concealing what he was actually up to would be child's play. 

Time to see what his watchers had made of operation 'Godling of their Own'.

 The Godling in question was still clinging to him like a leech even in his sleep and refused to let go and Helen had proclaimed it 'healing' and added an unhelpful 'suck it up, Stark!'. Tony didn't have the heart to dislodge him anyway. Rhodey had offered to play teddy which had thrown the kid into a genuine panic attack. Holding a helplessly sobbing and whimpering child hadn't been good for the genius' equilibrium either. Tony couldn't decide if he should feel flattered by Jor favoring him or… well, he was unable define the emotion, but it was a messy and uncomfortable one. 

He awkwardly shuffled over to the office chair in front of the desk nook, doing his best not to wake the barnacle. A second ping alerted Tony that the inquisition was imminent. No doubt ready and primed to scold him for acting irresponsible and not following the plans to a T.

Jor snuffled something indecipherable into Tony's neck that made the adult shudder – kid snot! - and sigh. Actually, confronting those politicians with the reality of whose fate they would be arguing over might not be such a bad idea at all. 

“Let's get this party started. Friday, open the connection.” 

A holographic screen lit up in front of him. It was partitioned in six segments with the biggest one reserved for the leader of this sub-group of the Sokovia Accord council. He had hoped that they had elected to do this via spokesperson and not group effort but alas, no joy. Well, he could understand that all of them wanted to do a personal evaluation of their newest alien guest. 

Newest didn't fit perfectly, though? Technically, Tony mused, Jor might as well be the oldest alien in residence. 

All six of the sub-council members silently stared at him.

 That wasn't strictly correct, they were staring at him but mostly at the kid in his arm. Tony pressed his lips together and raised an eyebrow, dared them to comment on the unprofessional picture he made. 

Rhodey had loaned him a soft flannel shirt in a truly eye searing orange-black pattern, the cruel, cruel fiend, and helped him shrug into it. His own wardrobe didn't offer anything that was both warm and open at the front to accommodate the barnacle. Underneath he was bare chested with the kid pressed near, dozing fitfully, one small (thankfully no longer grubby) hand pressed on the cover of the Arc-reactor. Which was a level of exposure he would have liked to avoid, thank you. And the crown on the fashion disaster? The colorful plaid Jor refused to let go off in all its Ironman merchandise glory. 

It was a new experience, entering a room, even if it was a virtual one, and not draw all eyes to him. 

“Greetings, Your Excellencies,” Tony offered formally. 

“Good evening, Dr. Stark.” Ambassador Barbara Compton, appointed by the UK, was a no-nonsense witch of a lady and Tony called her that with the greatest respect. She had been one of the main reasons why he had felt this co-operation could work. She was also the only one who refocused her attention on the adult and not the kid in front of the screen. 

“We will keep this short, a detailed review of the mission can be postponed until a more opportune point in time.” 

“I appreciate it,” Tony replied politely and tried to keep the fatigue and annoyance off his face. There were times when he honestly despaired that he had apparently only gotten rid of those pesky board meetings to exchange them for mission reviews. With no Pepper to take the heat. 

“Looks like you are all very eager to see me. I didn't expect the full sub-council to participate in the debrief,” Tony dryly commented on the sour visages and without thinking about it turned his office chair a few degrees to the left to get more of his body between the calculating stares and the kid. 

“We wanted to offer congratulations for your first successful mission under the revised regulations. It was very informative, even if it didn't go according to our plans.” Cool gray eyes, accentuated by perfectly done make-up glittered at him. 

“I thought we agreed on a mission that should be mainly reconnaissance?” Compton added tartly. 

“I've warned you beforehand that I would act if an opportunity presented itself or if something goes pear shaped. I've been in the superhero business for nearly a decade, I told you that's what happens to plans of operations in practice: they don't survive.” He had indeed told them that. More than once. 

Compton's neutral expression didn't change at all. “As far as I know the proverb goes like this: no plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first contact with the main hostile force?“ 

One of the other delegates, a wrinkly bald guy with a military bearing, turned in his chair and nodded at the British Ambassador. No surprise that a Prussian would recognize and appreciate the quote. 

Tony looked down at Jor and up again, raised an eyebrow. “I don't think the German General's famous advice applies here. No hostile to fight.” 

“Indeed.” Compton agreed. “All I see is a small child. He appears very young, considering the length of time he must have been under Jan Mayen.” 

“Time dilation field or magical suspension,” Tony offered. “If one of the goals was to keep him hidden-” 

“A growing serpent would have either perished or outgrown the cage.” Compton agreed. 

“Rogers and Barnes are examples for human technology achieving a similar goal on purpose or accident, it is very likely that Asgard has developed their own version.” 

“How can we be sure that this is not an elaborate hoax to slip under our defenses? Jormungand is said to be a shapeshifter and we cannot forget to take into account who his father is.” The second female member among the six Ambassadors asked, her voice strongly accented but easily understood, with her gaze distrustfully directed at the back of Jor's head. 

That Romania would be one of the most leery members among the Council didn't surprise Tony. 

Tony took a deep breath. “Poor kid peed on me when we debarked the rescue pod. Naked, icy wind going where no wind is wanted - you do the math. Can you believe it, Dr. Cho was pleased!” The engineer exclaimed and shuddered. “She said it was either a sign that the dehydration wasn't as severe or that he's getting better. Stank to high heaven, though, I tell you. Well, Helen was happy but Jor – freaked. Can you imagine a proud Norse God voluntarily embarrassing himself like that just to con us?” 

“Hardly. I concur that Jormungand lying about his true physical and mental age isn't likely. We will have to talk about the repercussions of his young age on our strategy and how to deal with him later.” Compton decisively cut that particular avenue of conversation short and changed the subject. 

Tony nodded.

 “Speaking of Dr. Cho. Her inclusion wasn't what we agreed upon either. We knew and approved of Colonel Rhodes as your backup but wasn't it you who emphasized the importance of keeping the circle of people in the know as small as possible?” 

“It wasn't pre-planned, no. I have to admit, I… panicked and slid back into well known patterns when confronted with a medical emergency. I trust Cho, she's my personal physician and I want to point out that she has the appropriate clearance level for my missions.” Tony didn't squirm and spoke evenly. 

The Briton inclined her head. “Ironman is known for his on the fly solutions and situational creativity. It would be counterproductive to curb one of your main strengths. Watching you live was certainly educational, I have to say.” 

“Is that a compliment I detect? Your Excellency, you'll make me blush,” Tony sassed out of reflex. 

Jor squirmed a little bit, maybe disturbed by the voices even if everyone spoke with a low volume. Tony hitched the kid higher up to get him in a more comfortable position for them both. How someone could be so small and be so unwieldy both baffled Tony. 

“It is just as well known that you are pathologically unable to curb your inappropriate reactions in every possible and impossible social situation,” Compton replied unruffled. “My comment about Dr. Cho's inclusion was more of a segue to a question, not a reprimand. When I feel the need to chew you out, Dr. Stark - and with you it is a question of when, not if – you'll be in no doubt about it.” 

“Touché.” Tony gave her a sloppy salute and ignored the scandalized stare he earned from one of the silent observers, the Council member from Israel. The Briton had asked for such a reaction, hadn't she? 

“The question you wanted to ask me?” 

“You answered already, in a way. It was about why you circumvented protocol, We would have preferred if you had contacted the medical team that was waiting on stand-by instead. Please keep it in mind for the next time. We consulted with Dr. Nakamura-” 

It took a moment for the genius to match a file to the name. Nakamura wasn't part of the official support team, but the doctor had been mentioned somewhere in the mountains of paperwork he had to dug through while negotiating with the Council. “He's a pediatrician?” he interrupted. 

“Yes, _she_ is, with a secondary specialization in child psychology. By the way, she seconded Dr. Cho's initial health assessment and therapy plan. She's stationed at the UN quarters in Vienna but is on her way to Stort airport in Norway to make sure that Jormungand is healthy enough for the flight back to New York. And to assess that he is ready for moving into Stark Tower.“ 

"You are giving me custody?” Tony had, in the heat of the moment, rambled about taking Jor to Dr. Cho for help but he had expected heavy resistance for that intention.

 “Official guardianship, only if you agree to it, of course.”

 Tony was the one to blink rather stupidly this time. 

“The original plan was to house our Godling at the compound in order to help with acclimatization and any cultural issues that might have arisen. Additionally, it would have been ideal for keeping an eye on him in the hope that he would lure his father out of hiding.”

 Tony smiled faintly. It was kind of sad that Thor was, at this point, the only one who thought that his brother was truly dead. Loki’s strange love-hate relationship with the blond was legendary, him fighting to prevent someone else killing Thor, that was believable. Loki dying like that? Not so much.

 “The high security level and resident heroes on hand in the case of anything going askew were certainly factors we appreciated. Circumstances have changed though.” She sent a meaningful look at Jor. “The compound is no place for raising a child! He is still a potentially valuable asset though. A child, an alien child to boot, has drastically different needs and we still want to have him well protected and secure.” 

“You want _me_ to be responsible for him. As a guardian.” Tony couldn't get over that bombshell. It had been on his mind, what might happen now to Jor, but- 

Compton raised her chin. “Stark Tower has superior security, that is what you are always boasting, hm? It is private, secluded in a way the compound isn't, you are speaking his mother tongue and have the money to support an exceptional child's needs. Trust me,” she smiled sharply, “raising children is expensive. 

And if something went wrong Tony Stark would be there to take the fall for the public’s outrage, not the UN. And, in contrast to the adult Jormungand they had counted on, a kid couldn’t be expected to stand up and defend them against a potentially pissed off Loki.

 Yes, of course, Tony understood completely. His poor, poor abused tower. 

Compton pointed to the child. “Most importantly, he trusts you and has shown a marked preference for your company.” 

“Yeah. Kinda like the break the egg, get a duckling deal,” Tony murmured. 

The Briton sighed and massaged the bridge of her nose, the first sign of real exhaustion she had shown since the call had begun. “Dr. Stark- she began and then paused thoughtfully, cutting off whatever had been about to come out of her mouth. 

Instead of immediately continuing her sentence she pointedly and slowly glanced from his neck, over the little head pressed to his chest, his arms under the blanky holding the kid before seeking his brown eyes with her own gray. 

“Your own goals are coinciding with the Council's in this case. Don't ask for trouble where there is none.” 

Tony stared back. “Your Excellency, the United Nations employ some of the best psychologists. One or more of them have provided you with assessments about my mental state and character and they have to be certainly more accurate than the one Agent Romanov gave SHIELD.” 

“Which isn't a great accomplishment.” Compton sniffed and gestured for him to get to the point. 

“If you give Jor to me – you know how I get with people I consider family.” This was the only warning he would give them and only because he knew their sort. This way nobody would be able to cry foul later. “I protect what is mine.” 

“That's what we are counting on,” Compton replied. “As long as you are raising Jormungand as a responsible person who loves Earth above all other realms.” 

“Then it has to be full custody. Hell, I'll go for adoption and I don't care that his origins make that a chancy subject. Everything under the protection of the Sokovia Accords, after my lawyers had theirs go at the contract.” 

“We will have a preliminary agreement ready for your signature in Stort. I will send it to you in digital form for review.” 

Dr. Erik Rudd, no, it was Ruud, pressed his fingertips together and rested his chin above them. “Norway is willing to offer citizenship to Jormungand Lokison-Stark.” 

That would offer a certain level of protection and create additional layer of hurdles to jump over if some busybody former General or others of his ilk decided to stick their noses where they didn't belong. Tony wanted to know the price though and waited for Ruud to elaborate. 

“The World Serpent has been part of Nordic culture since our beginning.” 

“It's not history I'm worried about.” Romania, of course. 

Tony bit his lip. Yeah, he could feel for the gal, her country had had to deal with superhuman fallout, but he was growing tired of this diplomatic struggle. 

“I told my fellow Ambassadors that I would only put my signature under anything if I was allowed to speak with the,” she hesitated, “alien beforehand.” 

Five heads nodded in unison. Only Compton kept still. 

“Now?” Tony asked and couldn't keep the exasperation completely out of his voice. 

“Jörmungandr doesn't seem to be an immediate danger. He shows no sign of offensive magic even under severe stress, and he does not seem to be physically enhanced. He is not a threat. Nevertheless all of us would feel better if we could interact with him before inviting danger into our midst.” Meggyesvalvy, Friday faithfully inserted the pertinent name, pompously proclaimed. 

“It's a wonder he hasn't woken up anyway,” Ruud commented. 

“He's totally exhausted. One cranky kid, freshly woken up, incoming.” Tony pondered for a moment and then ruffled the dark curls and pulled Jor away from where he was resting.The kid protested grumpily, rubbed his eyes and glared up at Tony, clearly very unhappy with being disturbed.

 

TBC


	5. More Talking (there is always more talking)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm counting the days until the 21st. Super slow internet is no fun at all but this time of the year the company doesn't have any slots free. No Loki this chapter, but there will be more, no fear.

 

Tony reached for a prepared bottle of watered down energy drink then offered and held it with steady hands, much better than the first time, and watched while the kid became more alert with every sip.

He wasn't sure if the watchers had come to the same conclusion about Jor’s truth-sense as himself when they observed Tony’s interactions with snake-Jor. Someone who could spot lies was a hot commodity and it would make the kid into a resource as well as a threat. Tony winced. No, he would cross his fingers, hope for the best and prepare to muddle the waters. Maybe he had interpreted it wrong anyway. Weren't little kids supposed to be perceptive by nature?

“I am sorry, you can go back to sleep soon. Sip slowly. Yes, I know it tastes strange. Now, I was asked to introduce you to some people. They are not here in person, it is like the conversations we had with my friend and the female healer while we were traveling in the small underwater ship.”

Yep, English skills were high up on the things he was going to teach the barnacle. Old Norse made Tony’s tongue feel like it would tie itself in a knot every other sentence. Friday had been instructed to provide the written translation for the Ambassadors so her creator didn’t have to bother.

"Jor, I want to introduce you to-” he struggled for the proper equivalent and finally went with what he thought came nearest. “members of our advisory council.”

The barnacle of course decided that this was the perfect opportunity to get combative. He wrinkled his nose and complained, in a high and scratchy voice. “Jor is not my name, why are you maligning my birth name?”

Tony was suddenly very grateful that he hadn’t let one of the more colorful nicknames slip through. “It is my habit to shorten or alter the names of people I like.”

He watched as the kid chewed on that.

“That is acceptable, _you_ have my permission to do so.” Jor nodded decisively and leaned back against his new guardian’s back to face the Ambassadors.

The equivalent of multi-syllable English words out of a young child's mouth, delivered in a complex sentence. And the haughty look to go with the imperious tone. Oh boy.

Where most of those old busybodies openly smirking at Tony? Really? The brunet sent them some very nasty thoughts. They had been the ones who had selected an arrogant genius to care for a, if Tony was any judge, very intelligent kid. Maybe all of this was some sort of convoluted payback?

“You are the trusted Elders of this realm, the ones who can no longer fight in honorable battles, but offer your council to the leader instead?” Jor asked.

Tony nearly choked on his own spit but Barbara Compton looked cool as a cucumber.

“Near, but not quite right. Your description doesn't fit all of our responsibilities, but giving you a better notion would require a lengthy explanation. Midgard has been isolated from the rest of Yggdrasil for a long time, our ruling systems differ greatly to the ones you are used to. This means that we never learned the correct way to interact with dignitaries from other realms. For example, on Midgard it is custom to address a Prince as ‘Your Highness.’ And we afford his sons the same courtesy. Would that be the correct way to address you as well?”

Now it was Tony's turn to blink. “Huh.”

“I have surprised your rescuer. Warrior Stark, do not look so astonished. I am a master of languages as well as an adviser. I was chosen for this particular task, I am the spokesperson, because of my talents.” She switched to English. “And not for my good looks.”

Oh, the old biddy had some fire. Tony threw her a flirty look and ignored how the other five bristled. Compton's only reaction was an amused eyebrow twitch.

Tony directed his attention to Jor. He had to give credit where credit was due. The ambassador had found a good way to not only suss out more useful information, but to get a better idea how much the alien child was comprehending about what was going on as well.

The kid was gnawing at his lower lip and thinking hard. The adults waited patiently.

“How may I address you?” the boy slowly asked.

“Ambassador or Madam will do.”

Another pause.

“Madam, my family never visited the court of Alfheim, but father is an Æsir prince, he told us about Asgard at length. And he often said that my brother and I are princes as well. His precious little princes. But I am not used to be called by title. I do not know what is appropriate here?”Jor swallowed and tilted his head back until he was able to glance uncertainly back at Tony without turning around fully.

Tony carded his fingers through the midget's hair and pushed them out of his face. The strands were curly, black and shiny like high-end metallic paint.

“Has father sent you to help me?”

Tony winced. “No, I am afraid not. We have not seen Prince Loki in years.”

“And my brother?” Jor's voice rose in agitation. “Have you found him?”

Tony's heart broke a little but he shook his head no.

Jor huddled down and pulled his cuddly blanket up until its edge touched the underside of his mouth. “The bad men, they came when father was on one of his short journeys.” Big tears began to gather in the amber colored eyes.

“They hurt my brother Fenrir, they called us monsters and ergi and shouted a lot. They hurt me too. Have you really not found my brother?” he repeated his earlier question with more urgency.

“We only have very old stories about your family and they are not always true.” Tony cuddled the kid closer and shushed him clumsily when Jor began to cry in earnest. “What happened to you was a very long time ago, hundreds of years.”

“But I am still small!” Jor protested vehemently.

“Yes, and adorable,” Tony soothed.

“A warrior should not be adorable, he should be courageous and steadfast. I'm not a good warrior. Fenrir was much fiercer than I, he bit one of those men and there was a lot of blood. They took us away from our home and then it got so cold and dark.”

Compton put her diplomatic skills to good use. “The stories Dr. Stark mentioned, they say that you and Fenrir were separated and that you were incarcerated on different Realms, each of you under heavy enchantments and magical objects to hold you and conceal you. Our own technology advanced to the point where we could reach your prison only recently.”

Tony grinned. “You remember my totally awesome suit of armor? I am the only one who can build something like that at the moment. Humans are not able to dive so deeply without perishing. Or bodies are not made to withstand extreme conditions.”

“Yes, thank you Dr. Stark. We are all aware that you are an exceptional inventor,” the British Councilor remarked coldly and then pointedly looked in turn at some points outside her view-screen. It seemed to correspond with her connections to the other council members because they reacted in turn.

“I think we can agree that Prince Jormungand is welcome on Earth as long as he keeps to his vow to Iron Man. Furthermore it has been decided that he will be the official ward of Dr. Anthony Edward Stark.”

The five stooges nodded, some of them more reluctantly than the others.

Jor trembled. This pow-wow couldn’t have gone on for much longer because the kid had used up whatever energy his naps had given him. The emotional roller-coaster and the strange environment hadn't helped. The kid looked done for and offering a polite farewell phrase was all he managed to croak out before he was once again mistreating Tony as a cuddle toy. Jor closed his eyes and even if he wasn’t falling asleep again, he had retreated from the conversation.

The adult holding him couldn't help, but feel envious.

“A preview version of the contract should be in your official UN inbox within the next two hours. I think we can agree that the mission was a success. It could have gone a lot worse.” Compton concluded in English and the way her arms moved indicated that she was closing something. It was nearly over then.

“Oh, Yes.” Tony shuddered and absentmindedly rubbed over where his natural breastbone once had been. “I expected Rogers and his crew appearing any moment to mess everything up. Pardon, how egotistic of me, they would have only felt obliged to counter my newest misguided and dastardly plan to destroy the world.”

With Rogers' superhuman Murphy powers in play the cage might have broken without any trust built between the Serpent and the humans. Big, strong, desperate snake with the mind of a child inside without anyone knowing that they were dealing with an immature being? Possible scenarios reared their ugly heads in Tony’s imagination. Yeah, no.

“That irresponsible self-righteous simpleton! Did you have any further contact with him?” Meggyesvalvy snarled loudly.

It made Jor yelp in fright and all other adults glare at the Romanian Councilor.

“Hey, stop the shouting, traumatized kid here! And no, I haven’t heard from him again after the package he sent me. Rogers seems to be waiting for me to change my mind, admit that he was right, 'find that my own belief is in individuals' as well, which I suspect means suddenly supporting Rogers and his friends. Or something else in that vein. You've read his letter. I guess the communication ball is in my court as far as he is concerned.” His expression should tell the six what he thought about the likelihood of that happening

“Which reminds me.” It was Israel speaking up, one of the two Ambassadors who had been silent until now. It couldn't have been for lack of language skills, his accent was pure Oxford. “You are aware that Secretary Ross will be informed about this new development promptly, as is procedure concerning operations which influence the United States territory directly?”

“Unfortunate, but not a surprise.” Tony kept his face muscles in check as much as possible but couldn't prevent a scowl to escape.

“Thank you for the warning. I'll prepare for his inevitable visit. Maybe enforce the battlements, sharpen the swords, you know: the good stuff.” The real list was more in the line of spiff up the surveillance so everything would be caught on tape as evidence, double check Friday's firewall and prepare Pepper and her army of lawyers.

Oh boy. Pep. Who had no clue about Jor.

“Indeed,” Compton unknowingly commented on his sarcasm and the source of his sudden dread both. “You can practice and hone your negotiation skills in the diplomatic arena on Thaddeus.”

Polite empty words were thrown around and then the other five partitions of the screen blackened and the central one automatically enlarge to fill out the space.

“Was I doing that badly?” Tony tried to charm the dragon lady with a smile.

“After today? Do you need to ask, Anthony?”

Tony ignored the use of his given name, exaggerated his pout and winked. “Well, hell. How stupid do you think I felt when it dawned on me that I tried to negotiate a verbal contract with the equivalent of a human pre-school munchkin?”

Compton smirked and reached for her blue-tooth headset. “Take it from someone who raised two children and has multiple grandchildren: you could have done worse.” With those words she closed the connection.

 

.-#-.

 

Tony looked at the barnacle, looked at his comfy bed and then despairingly to the communications center.

“You're done?” A low voice made Tony turn to the door.

Rhodey looked as beat as Tony felt, his normally healthy dark skin had a waxy sheen and he was listing to the side. The additional hours on the 'Eleonora' hadn't been good for his balance. Add the brutal waves that made the yacht shake and roll and his best friend was getting more of a workout with the braces than was healthy.

“Done. I'm _so_ done, yeah. But It could have been worse. How've you been treated?”

Rhodey shrugged his muscular shoulders and then leaned against the door frame. “Not too badly but I only had to go over some minor points of interest with an Attaché to the Council, not the top dogs themselves like you. Afterward my military liaison officer called, he had been notified that I’ve participated in an active mission. That conversation didn’t take long either.”

It sounded like Rhodey had had time to spare to listen in on Tony's meeting for a little while.

“Hell of a day.”

“Hm. Can't regret coming though.” His platypus nodded at the now softly snoring kid. “Timey whimey prison or not, one day more would have been too much.”

“Those old dusty Edda texts were gruesome, but this is monstrous, Rhodey. That chick who's always riding herd on Foster, Darcy Lewis? She's done some poking for me. Thor is always ready to boast about his home and he corroborated a lot of stuff. Not that they happened word for word the way it was written down in the Edda and Lokasenna, he insists that his dear Daddy would never do something like torturing his grandchildren, but our versions are too close to those that are traditionally sung by their bards for my comfort." Tony stretches his finger and then curled them, similar to when he was holding a piece of metal in place ready to be hammered into shape. "This deal with the kid, the discrepancies, it makes no sense whatsoever!”

“In a really twisted way? Yes, it does.” Rhodey's voice sounded nearly emotionless. “A story about an adult man and his drinking buddies subduing two small children who are unable to defend themselves, that's not something that paints the warriors in a favorable light. It’s not heroic enough to be considered a worthy challenge for those Viking types. It makes the big guy look like a weak ass. And big guys in power don’t like embarrassing stories being widespread by the media. Or bards in Asgard’s case. Of course they lied about what happened.”

“History is written by the victors and all that rot.” Tony gnashed his teeth and carefully patted the little guy on the back, tugged the fluffy blanket more snugly against the small body. “Ass, Ass - nomen est omen.”

“By the way, I called Pepper.” Rhodey's lips twitched.

Tony stared at him, wavering between despair and relief.

“I gave her a shortened version about our ahem, vacation and told her about the new addition to House Stark.”

“Dare I ask how she reacted?” Tony moaned and checked his phone. It was in silent mode but there were no missed calls from a furious red head. “She's skipped the scolding and is already writing my obituary instead, isn't she?”

“She politely thanked me for giving her an update and asked that you send her a short message to assure her personally that you are really still alive.”

“So she can kill me herself. You'll protect me, won't you platypus?” Tony pleaded.

"Nope, you are on your own there, sorry." Rhodey pulled himself upright. The storm outside took the opportunity to send an especially vicious wave against the hull of the yacht. The ship shook and the tired man stumbled but caught himself.

“Anything hurt? I shouldn't have asked you to come with me.” Narrowed brown eyes evaluated the bracers on the other man's legs, already calculating the changes that would be needed to compensate for sudden varieties in altitude on flexible terrain. An additional shock absorber would be needed and the hinge required -

“No undressing me with your eyes, Tones! Nope, not even by taking off mechanical bracers,” Rhodey chided. “And I recognize your mea culpa face, don't go there. I wanted to come, I volunteered and I'm quite happy to be in the field again. You are not responsible for the unplanned horrible weather, don't you dare feel guilty. Concentrate on something else. I've got some interesting news too.”

The engineer took a few seconds longer to contemplate his best friend's legs before gesturing him to go on.

“My official new orders have come in.”

“Congratulations, that means they haven't discharged you!” Tony did his best to appear happy for his friend, he knew how much this would mean to the career military man. “Where will they send you for your next tour? Please don't say Afghanistan?”

“Stark Tower.”

“Come again?”

Rhodey grinned. “You are looking at your new housemate, if you’re game of course. Some version of intel about us rescuing Jormungand and his new home must have traveled with light speed. My commanding officer was quite eager to send me to keep an eye on the situation and play bodyguard for our new resident princeling.”

“That's great! I know you would prefer something else, a real posting,-”

“Living with you will never get boring, not with you as my landlord. I won't miss the battlefield at all.” Rhodey came fully inside the cabin and sat down on the desktop. “Tony, I was always aware that I might not come back from a fight cleanly. It’s the nature of my job, but Leipzig has been a wake up call of sorts. I’m able to go back into the field but I’m considering my long term options. One of them is using my degree. Someday. Not now, don’t get excited!"

Tony babbled on as if the other man hadn't spoken the last sentence. The engineer beamed in pure joy. “You won't regret it. You'll get the floor directly underneath the penthouse levels. And your own lab space! You will love it!” Tony continued on and squirmed, ready but unable to reach for his tablet and design something.

“Now, hold it!” Rhodey tried to slow him down again but with the air of a man who knew that he was fighting a losing battle. “I'm not going to mooch off you, I'm not a freeloader.”

Tony hitched the kid a little higher. Again. Slippery kid. Was the barnacle slobbering on him? Tony shuddered. His poor abused arms would fall asleep soon and he alternated his grip to shake one out, then the other.

“Your pay grade is great, but you could never afford prime real-estate like my tower on your own. You'll work hard for it, so what's the problem? Bodyguard for the kid of one of the richest people on earth, that's worth a lot. It’s certainly worth a fortune to me.”

“Doesn't mean that I'll expect you to pay for everything. I'll take reasonably sized apartment – and I mean my notion of reasonable, not yours Tones! - but I will bring my own furniture. I love some of those pieces! Do you remember the green couch? And I'll buy my own groceries. Deal?”

Tony smiled innocently. “Deal.”

Rhodey sighed. “Now send that message to Pepper and go to bed, we have a few hours until we reach the harbor.”

“Aye, aye Colonel!” Tony saluted clumsily.

“Smart-ass.”

 

.-#-.

 

It was an eye catching caravan which waited for the yacht. One armored black limousine, one nondescript van that was (at least to Tony) loudly proclaiming that it belonged to some governmental organization and a flatbed truck were waiting to be loaded.

A small crew to sail the yacht back to her home harbor in France had boarded as soon as the three brave returning adventurers had come down the gangway. The crew would only have a standard Stark navigation system and no AI to help them, thus more than two set of hands were needed.

Rhodey and Tony both, going by their relieved twin sighs, were not sad at all to be on Terra Firma again.

Mother nature was still pissed and attacked everyone who was stupid enough to be outside with strong winds and a rain so icy that it burned the skin it touched. Jan Mayen had been in the arctic circle proper, this small regional airport and harbor should have been warm by comparison, but failed miserably in that regard.

Tony glared up at the clouds. For fucks sake, it was the end of July, even stoic northern European countries deserved some sunny summer love. This was incentive to find a better solution than emigrating to Norway, if the US proved to be too difficult!

One of the bigger airports would have been more comfortable but Stord had been the most discreet way for the last leg of their journey home. For a certain amount of discreet. The billionaire's scathing gaze rested on the welcoming committee.  If the council ever accused him of not knowing the definition of the word he would gleefully point at this circus. They were giving the local much material to wag their tongues at.

Tony wasn't inclined to be impressed with anything at the moment, but that had more to do with the nightmare that had interrupted his sleep and less to do with the locals and agents staring at them like Iron Man, War Machine, and one little boy had fallen from the sky à la Thor.

Only one lonely worker wasn’t watching the free entertainment. Equipped with a heavy raincoat and a weather beaten cap in some dull mud color, he had mumbled something which only the first word being recognizable and then directed a cart with fresh provisions to the gangway without affording the visitors another glance. And Friday, ever helpful in Tony’s ear-piece, cheerfully translated it for her creator: “Yankees. Rich idiots going on a fucking leisure cruise in this weather!”

The distance to the waiting jets was negligently short. The harbor sat at the foot of a steep decline with the single airport strip and a ramshackle hangar on top of the hill. Driving up the narrow serpentines would be the main challenge, not the distance itself. It most certainly didn't require pomp and ceremony. If someone asked for the billionaire's opinion, which they hadn't.

According to the spokesperson of one half of the UN support team that had greeted the 'Eleonora', his entourage - and Tesla's sake, that was the word the young man had used - entourage! - was required as additional protection.

Tony looked at the earnestly professional face and Agent Fredrikson's alert and bushy tailed stance and felt old. Which was ridiculous.

He wasn't pleased with having lost more control of the mission, but at this point he all he could manage mild irritation. If the agents wanted the work of dealing with the local authorities? More power to them.

At least Jormungand didn't seem to mind the weather and scenery but after practically being buried alive for half an eternity, a modern yacht, a run down harbor and a bunch of peculiar Midgardians must be the height of entertainment.

The very modern toilet in the captain's cabin? Hadn't warranted more than a shrug from the boy. The bland squishy something Helen had recommended and which Rhodey had prepared for breakfast? Tony had poked at it and wondered how the necessary ingredients had found their way onto the 'Eleonora'. It had been devoured without complaint by the kid. Unusual and much too large garments, another burrito blanket instead of a coat – Jor had taken everything in stride and he wasn't as clingy anymore. Maybe he had filled up on his touchy feely needs during the night while using Tony as a pillow.

He was acting more like a normal child - as far as Tony could judge something like that - as long as his hero didn't get farther away than a few feet. In that situation Jor reverted back to a barnacle.

The lack of socks, never mind shoes, required that the boy had to be carried again and Jor was big enough to cause his poor mule some trouble. Left over adrenaline must have made it appear simpler the day before but at the moment Tony was feeling every nearly healed wound. He wanted to put the kid into the car and sit down, thank you. What he most certainly didn't want to do was stand around and make polite conversation.

If the agent wanted to talk to Tony Stark, he could do it while walking swiftly alongside the inventor to the limousine.

"Your personal assistant, she called hersefl Friday, has helped us with the cover story."

“Hi Gregory, sorry for dragging you to out in this weather!” Tony greeted the driver jovially, it was one of the handful of employees who had been trained by Happy. Greg served as his driver regularly whenever the billionaire traveled to Europe. Tony slid into the heated car, placed the little kid-burrito further in and then faced the hovering agent again.

He could hear Jor shuffling around and exploring the peculiar midgardian chariot.

"Care to share that story. Just so we all know what to say and don’t fuck it up on accident?"

Fredrikson took on a military stance as if reporting to an officer. Tony could imagine what his best friend would say to that.

His platypus was overseeing the loading of their equipment, it wouldn't do to have nosy agents touch where they weren't wanted. Tony hated waxing his armors to get drool and fingerprints off the finish. Well, Fri had the robots do it but it was still gross.

"Please, don't salute or something equally ridiculous. I'm not a soldier and certainly no officer."

Was the agent blushing now? It must be the curse of the redheads striking. Or this was some trial by fire: survive one mission supporting Iron Man and you might be ready for more dangerous endeavors.

"You're new, hm?"

"My supervisory agent gave me the task to brief you." He pointed at an older woman who was standing slightly to the side.

Tony stiffened. Oh my, if looks could kill. Tony -and Jor too? - would be falling over dead. "Sour puss, eh?"

The redhead manfully ignored the question. "The sudden weather change has threatened Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes recovery and you didn't want to risk further injury. You abandoned the field test of your newest suit. At least this is what it boils down to, but the full statement is inside in a diplomatic pouch, with additional important documents Ambassador Compton has sent along inside. She said you knew about that. The press-statement sounds ...ok?"

“I've heard better, but it isn't obviously a cover-up so it will do. Congrats,” said the billionaire and closed the car door. He slumped into the seat. “Do I want to know what crap they originally wanted to sell, Fri?”

Friday took a second and then answered from her speaker in his wristwatch. “I don't think so, but my scans indicate that you need some cheering up, so I'll tell you anyways, Boss: malfunctioning equipment forcing you to terminate your tests.”

Tony laughed aloud. “Pepper would have eaten them alive. Having our competency called into question and creating distrust for our products with false reporting, potentially harming SI sales? Yep, she'd have skewered them.”

The distinctive sound of expensive crystal glass ringing like a bell had him jolt upright again and frantically search the dim cabin.

“Jor!”

The kid had found the small refrigerator cupboard and the fitted glass cabinet. Needless to say he had ignored the bottled water as boring and had gone directly to the unknown container: the decanter full of whiskey. Clever little fingers had extricated the heavy glass bottle top. The kid was wrinkling his nose while sniffing the amber liquid.

“Oh, no, no, no no, no. Sorry buddy, but even I know that that's one stupid idea and why was this in my car. European branch must have missed the memo about me quitting the heavy stuff? I'm not drinking anymore.” Tony pried the objects away from the protesting child, closed the offending bottle and contemplated throwing it out of the window.

“Tony!”

“Strong Mead like beverage, very unhealthy for children,” Tony hastened to explain, now in the language that would make more sense to the kid than the rambling before.

“It stung!” Jor wriggled his nose and his eyes crossed. “Yuck.”

“Please never change that attitude.” The adult reached out and pushed the button to open the window on his side, ready to give his throwing arm some exercise.

Which might be a bad idea. And demonstrate poor impulse control to an impressionable young person. Fuck. Not two days as a father figure and his kid had been playing around with strong alcoholic beverages.

Carrot-top was still standing guard and stooped to be able to look inside. Tony held the bottle outside.“Here, enjoy. No need to give the empty back. It's all yours.”

The inventor let go and didn't care to check if the young man had a good grip, he was already turning around and raiding the rest of the compartment and giving the other two bottles the same treatment.

“I don't drink on the job!” was the last thing Tony heard before the window closed up again.

Jor was sniggering loudly, amused by the strange shenanigans of the humans.

“Oh, you think this is funny, don't you champ? You nearly caused me a heart attack. Which- nope, not allowed.”

Jor giggled harder and mimicked Tony's flailing around. Tony couldn't stop the belly laugh it ignited in himself. After calming down something inside his chest loosened and he could breath more freely. Yep, he must have looked like a raving lunatic! Didn't mean that he wouldn't order whatever else he had stored on his properties destroyed or under lock and key.

The door on the other side opened and Rhodey carefully climbed inside, rubbing his hands together to lessen the cold. “Everything is squared away and under a tarp or lock and key. Tones, why was I accosted by an agent who was asking me what to do with a few hundred dollars worth of liquor?”

“Just some spring cleaning.”

“It's summer.” But the look he sent the inventor was warm and the way he patted Tony on the knee in support –  Tony relaxed. He could do this, yes he could.

The brunet pulled Jor back to his side and made sure that the kid's feet were covered up only for his hard work to be destroyed not even a minute later. The car started and accelerated and Jor climbed onto Tony to get near to the window and stare at the landscape going by.

“Friday, my bestest girl?” Tony murmured and carefully steadied Jor.

“Flattery Boss?”

“Ah, but I have to make sure that you aren't thinking that I love you less with a new arrival to our family. Hush, platypus!”

His best friend had been bitten by the laughter bug as well.

“I'm going to be the best big sister ever.”

“Of course you will. Can you make sure that file,” he nodded at the waiting diplomatic pouch and the tablet inside, “isn't hiding some nasty surprises?”

“On it!”

"Good girl!" She must have hacked the data already. Initiative, another step forward. Yes, Fri was growing fast.

When they arrived at the hangar Tony bundled up an indignant and complaining kid. Suddenly it was unacceptable to be carried around.

Two airplanes were waiting, one of them his sleek private jet with his pilot guarding the open entrance.

"One leg right, one leg left of my hip. Yes, I know you are old enough to walk, you are not a… .I guess the correct expression is suckling. The ground is dirty and cold and your feet are bare, which is a bad combination, let us avoid it."

Nosy agents pounced on them but faithful Rhodey cleaved a way for his friend through the gaggle. Tony only stopped once before climbing up the gangway to his Stark-jet to address the milling agents.

"Ok, you-" He nodded at a heavy set woman in business casual. "Dr. Nakamura? Go on up inside. Now, the rest of you. Thank you for your diligence and cooperation. Have a nice flight back home - one sec. Who of you has lots of little siblings?"

Fredrikson shyly raised his hand. "I'm the oldest of five?"

Of course he was.

"Congrats, you've won a one way trip to New York courtesy of Stark airlines, please board the plane. You've been conscripted as a temporary consultant. Your main and only task will be keeping any dangerous stuff away from the kid. Got it?"

"Sir, yes, Sir!"

Tony moaned and manfully ignored Rhodey's smirk.

"Shaddup and hurry inside."

 

TBC


	6. High up (down below)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have my internet back! If it wasn't pre-christmas crazy times I could have spared a few hours and visited a bigger city with some better options but damn, that was a lession in how dpendent I am on the net. It's kind of sad that all my friends who could have helped me live in other countries or in cities far away. 
> 
> Now, I'll do my best to update tomorrow with another chapter, but no promises, I'm drowing in things to do.

 

_ No void this time, certainly an improvement because the less time he spent in that place the better. _

_ Tony checked his state of clothing and noted that there was progress too. No chain mail, just regular PJs which he still did not own in real life. But hey, this was a dream, it wasn’t supposed to be logical. _

_ His feet were naked again. Damn it. _

_ He looked around. _

_ No Dum-E. _

_ He curled his toes. _

_ “Hurt him.” _

_ “Yes, yes I got it. Hurt him and you’ll hurt me.” _

_ His skin pebbled from cold and he stepped from one foot to the other. This is why he made sure that his homes always had state of the art heating systems. Asgard didn’t seem to care or they were above such things as creature comforts. Because yes, from the maudlin descriptions Thor had regaled them with this place was the palace in Space Viking Central. _

_ It didn’t get any less creepy the second time around. Better get it over with and face the wizard. Tony took a step forward towards the dark figure on the throne. Then another one. After the fifth and not getting nearer to his goal Tony stopped and scowled. He hated being played with. The green grass - he dug his toes into the leafy stuff and stared at the ground. Yep, suddenly there was green, tickling and slightly damp grass instead of rough stone. Golden mist seeped out between the plants and reached for his ankles, accompanied by nebulous teeth and glowing green eyes. _

_ “I sense a theme,” Tony dryly commented. _

_ “Hurt him…” voices from all sides echoed and pushed at the inventor. _

_ “I won’t, so stop the theatrics,” Tony snarled and leaped out of the way of one especially aggressive mist snake. _

_ The man on the ridiculously ornate golden chair of doom gripped the armrests hard with his slender hands. _

_ “Use him-” Again with the surround sound attack. _

_ Over dramatic arse. _

_ “Nope, I won’t.” _

_ “And being thrown out of a window will be the least of your worries.” The ghost snakes completed the sentence the trickster had begun. _

 

Tony pried his eyes open and rubbed the grit out of them. The jet was experiencing some air turbulence and shook a little bit, despite the excellent construction. He looked to the side and the snoozing kid. There wasn’t much to be seen in the dimmed cabin, just a shock of black hair sticking out of some blanket folds.

What a strange dream.

Of course this could have been an ordinary dream, something his brain had conjured up because Asgard and Loki were on his mind a lot. But whenever Loki was involved it was better to discard Occam’s razor, the mage was the universal antithesis to that concept. 

New York was seven hours behind Norway which meant that it would have been nice to get some shut eye in, but alas…

Tony reached for his Starkpad.

.-#-.

 

“I knew people are ridiculous.” Tony shook his head and waited for the elevator doors to close. They had used the garage as a point of entrance to his tower and only passed the front. “I mean, I'm used to the scrutiny and the spotlight but hell, it's been nearly two months and protesters - most of them ordinary citizens who never met any of us personally!- are still congregating outside Stark Tower and waving their cute handmade signs.”

Rhodey and Tony exchanged a look and then chanted in unison. “Bring back Cap, bring back Cap, bring him back!”

“And now I have to wash my mouth out,” Rhodey complained.

War Machine and Ironman had some long discussions (and fights) about what had gone wrong with the Avengers and there was a lot to rant about, but Tony would never understand the pure tenacity of some people who were wasting energy by shouting at buildings and behaving like loons. It wasn’t as if Tony Stark could make an international crime rap sheet disappear for infractions half the world practically watched _live_ _on TV_. At least not a second time, it had been nearly impossible to wrangle the pardon’s for Steve before Leipzig. There was genius and then there was miracle worker.

Tony hitched the small carryall higher up and smiled down at Jor. The kid was using one of Tony’s hands like an anchor and was silently observing everything around him with curious eyes.

“You know, some of them are, what was the hashtag? #TeamIronMan instead. There was a scuffle yesterday between the two protesting groups. Fox News took great joy in filming it and airing it in their news reel.”

“They still have a Best Of compilation?” Tony moaned and then forced a smile because Jor, not understanding a word that was spoken, was looking at him in alarm.

“Ohm yes, it grows and flourishes.” Rhodey sighed. "Like fungus."

Fredrikson and the council doctor had left the raid party after they had arrived at LaGuardia and were currently busy reporting back to their superiors, no doubt. Even if there wasn’t much to report.

The flight had gone by without a hitch and Jor had mostly slept, after refusing more than a short examination by Dr. Nakamura. Tony hadn’t intervened and had, trusting Helen a lot more than this stranger, in fact encouraged Jor to ignore her and instead build a nest in the comfortable leather seat beside Tony’s. The woman's main purpose on the flight was to provide medical services if anything unexpected happened.

After putting on the new and fitting clothes that had awaited them in the jet, courtesy of Ambassador Compton and Fri’s organizational talents, the kid had hunkered down.

Nakamura hadn’t looked surprised by the resistance, smart woman. According to his own Accords contract they couldn’t demand access to Tony’s blood or body outside a medical emergency. Nope, no stranger allowed near his arc-reactor or near his kid. Compton had been shrewd enough to include a similar concession in the preliminary for Jor to sweeten the deal.

Which didn’t alter the fact that Jor needed a proper check up. Who knew what kind of allergies an alien might have?

But first they had to brave the dragon. Pepper had been worryingly silent. No calls, no emails, no long messages after a few he had missed during the night and those had been rants about Tony risking his neck by going deep-sea diving and not his stunt to free a gigantic serpent.

The elevator door opened nearly soundlessly and Jor, perceptive kid that he was, took it as a sign to hide behind Tony.

“This is your home?”

“Yes. I guess it is very different to what you are used to. It is your home now as well. I have to make some changes but you will like it here.” Oh boy, did he need to alter a lot. His penthouse hadn't been designed with a small child in mind. The flight hadn’t been long enough to make a decent dent in Tony's to-do list.

Rhodey did his duty as the bestest friend ever and acted as a vanguard, entering the open floor living room and steering directly towards the slender woman who awaited them with her arms akimbo.

“Pepper!” Rhodey greeted. “This time it was really not our fault. Not even Tony’s!”

Not even? Tony grumbled softly and guided the kid inside and to the right in direction of the stairs and the bedrooms beyond. If this got explosive, he wanted Jor to be able to retreat into a safe room.

“Good morning, James. Friday kept me up to date. I’ve heard that you are joining us at the tower and I’m looking forward to it. We can use all the help we can get.” The beautiful redhead replied to Rhodes, but with her eyes firmly focused on the strange pair. She scrutinized them carefully, the kid as long as the man.

“Oh God, Tony. I was so mad at you, but.... Someone kept that kid prisoner?!? I couldn’t-.” She breathed and slowly came near.

“Jormungand, this is one of my oldest and very dear friends, Pepper.”

“It is a pleasure!” Jor haltingly voiced in accented English and then swiftly looked up at a surprised Tony. The rest was his mother tongue again. “Friday helped me learn the greeting phrases and polite answers of this realm, did I do it correctly? I can say ‘Hello!’ as well.”

When had that happened? Must have been during his nap. Tony shoved that question away for later. “It was very good, you will be speaking like a native in no time!”

“Yes, you did fine,” praised Pepper, tapping the earpiece she wore with a finger and nodded to Tony. Until the barnacle was fluent it would be standard equipment for all residents. “I am pleased to meet you too Jormungand.”

Jormungand preened a little bit and left the security of Tony’s shadow to look around more openly. The big window front with the stunning view of a early morning New York skyline made the expressive eyes grow wide. As it should. The room had been designed to draw the attention of the occupants to the city outside.The muted colors of furniture and decoration was deliberate to avoid distraction from the vista. Today promised to be a sunny and the city looked fresh and sparkly from this high up. No sign of the alien invasion and the destruction it had caused was left. The height also concealed the smog and dirt (and annoying protesters) at ground level.

“We are high up, nearly touching the sky! My father told us about the Asgardian city fortress of Gold and that Æsir don’t have enough room to spread thus they have to build tall. Does Midgard have a similar style but in gray instead of gold?”

“I have never been to Asgard therefore I cannot compare. Humans do not have only one building style, it depends on the purpose of the building and the personal taste of the owner."

For some reason that completely escaped Tony, Pepper was now openly smiling at him warmly. It wasn’t the scolding he had predicted and he wasn’t about to question his good fortune. 

Later more? He gestured at Pep and she nodded. Some things were better discussed without the barnacle in hearing range.

“Helen is waiting. Should I call her in?” Pepper was all business again.

“Yep, good idea. Not overwhelming the kid from the get go with too many new strangers on home territory.”

Her gorgeous red lips twitched.

“Have you done some research?”

Some research? Yeah. One night was enough for Tony to become a specialist in thermonuclear physics, but parenting was in a league of its own. Who had thought that there were so many parenting guides? Many of them contradicted each other.

“I missed the ‘Your new Alien kid 101’ publication though, it must have fallen through the cracks of some shortsighted publishing house. A gap in the market, I tell you!” he complained under his breath.

“Jor, I know you are still hurting from your imprisonment, I called for my personal healer.”

The barnacle didn’t look pleased at all, his face which had been alight with curiosity clouded. “I do not like strange healers touching me!” he protested.

“You're sure this is not some elaborate con to conceal that he’s in fact your bio-kid, Tony?” Pepper’s lips twitched.

“Hey, I wouldn’t help him with something like that, I resent that implied insult!” Came good natured from Rhodey who had gone outside and was now escorting Helen into the room.

Tony manfully ignored them both in favor of commiserating with Jor. “I do not like them either.”

“If father was here he would use his magic to read my body. The woman on the flying machine wanted me to fully disrobe!" The barnacle was scandalized.

"No spells, I am afraid, and if you aren't able to use such magic on yourself, and make us understand the results, we'll have to do it the hard way. Which means poking."

Jor stubbornly shoved his lower lip forward and crossed his arms. "But I am much too young to practice magic, father has strictly forbidden me to try the smallest spell." The kid trembled.

Helen sharply glared at Tony and then went down on one knee in front of Jor so she was on eye level. "We are not asking you to do anything forbidden, your father is known on Earth for his mastery of magic and we will not go against his advice. But he is unfortunately not available and your imprisonment has been bad for your health. We need to know how much."

Praise for his dad was working, Jor relaxed again and nodded sagely but still clung to Tony.

"Would it help if I demonstrated what I will do by examining Tony first?"

Hey! That hadn't been in the plans. Alarms rang in Tony's head and he was ready to argue, but then slumped when confronted by hopeful amber and shrewd dark brown eyes respectively.

"Oh whatever." Tony shook his head at his doctor. "You're not fooling me with your innocent facade, Helen. I'm onto you."

Helen smiled sweetly and lead the uneven pair to the windows and the lounge chairs, carrying her doctor's bag like a shield.

"Friday, make the glass non-see-through from the outside." Tony waved at Rhodey and Pep and consigned himself to Helen's nonexistent mercy.

.-#-.

“Tony, one minute of your time or two, please?”

Tony had seen his best friend’s face grew tight and furious when the inventor’s chest had been on display for the doctor. The discussion between Helen and Tony hadn’t made the man happy either. Tony could have sent Rhodey outside, but he had been so grateful for the support that this issue had escaped his notice.

“Jor, I’m not going anywhere but uncle Rhodey needs my advice on some adult issue.” The inventor ruffled Jor’s black hair a little more enthusiastically than necessary and grinned down teasingly when the kid huffed and tried to get it back in some semblance of order.

“I’ll be over there, at the high counter with the strange chairs. All right?”

The nod was very hesitant, but Helen distracted the kiddo with a stethoscope.

Rhodey sighed. “I’ve got to go and take care of things.”

“Better now than when this hits the news and you’ll get accosted every step you take. They’ve let off a bit during the last week, but it will be bedlam inside two days."

Rhodey raised one eyebrow.

Tony huffed. “Of course this juicy tidbit of Tony Stark’s life will go public, Platypus. Pepper is already composing a press statement in her head, I bet.”

Pepper was dividing her attention between the newest Stark under her care and her phone. At the moment she was laughing at something Jor had told her.

“Look at the kid, already charming the ladies after a few days in my company, I’m so proud.” Tony smiled.

“Don’t say that too loudly or you’ll lose any browny points you’ve gained with Pepper,” cautioned his best friend.

“Ahem, yes. On second thought, that’s good advice. Thanks Platypus.” Tony tucked in his Black Sabbath T-Shirt and then hopped onto the countertop to be in the line of sight of the barnacle.

His best friend took the regular seat on a bar chair nearest to the genius. "Tones."

"Guess I owe you an explanation?" He tapped the cover of the arc.

"It's hard seeing  _ that _ make a return. I was so happy for you when you got rid of the machine. It may have saved your life, but it endangered it as well."

"It saved my life once again. Nobody can say Rogers does anything by half. Fucking up included. Add beating me to a pulp to the list. You know how compromised my rib cage was even before he took that fucking shield to it."

Rhodey snarled when he heard the name, honest to God snarled.

"And then he left you behind!" Which, for the dedicated and proud military man was an unforgivable sin.

"Didn't help at all, that. Fucking cold was the biggest threat, actually. Did one good thing though, it slowed the bleeding somewhat. I was dying Rhodey. Again."

The Lieutenant Colonel had been in the middle of the first of three surgeries for his back injury himself during that time and hadn't witnessed his best friend’s fight for his own life.

"Without Cho, the Craddle and Extremis? I would have had no chance. But Extremis on its own had too much damage to rebuild."

"Killian's soldiers, some of them joined up because they had lost limbs." It wasn't a direct question but it was valid.

"Two things. You've seen the pics? It was as bad as it looked. I was worse off than those poor sods, Helen pretty unprofessionally described my upper body as mincemeat. And I would have rather died than have myself pumped full of those drugs the Mandarin gave his men to maintain Extremis for more than the initial burst. Nasty, nasty stuff on par with Crystal Meth. Which explains a lot about how Killian's guys acted. And Aldrich himself - always suspected that he was sniffing the good stuff. Turns out he designed his own and sampled them as well."

"Drugs? That wasn't in any report."

"It was easier to say that the cure isn't working than giving people bad ideas. Fuck." He rubbed tiredly over his face. This was not something he liked to remember or discuss. "You're only pretending to be a brainless military drone."

Rhodey smiled mildly up at him. "I am a career soldier."

"Don't sell yourself short, I shared your dorm at MIT, you're not on my level-"

Rhodey gave him a playful shove. "But I beat you at humility every time."

"-but you are damn fine engineer. You know about energy conversion and that there's no process in the universe that can run without an adequate energy source backing it up. And no matter what Matrix wants to sell you, the human body isn't a good battery. That's why all of those living flamethrowers went nuclear, they lost control and Extremis as a last resort used their own body as fuel. Until nothing was left."

Something must have clicked in his best friend's brain because his eyes got round and then horrified. They fixated on the spot on Tony's chest where the arc was doing its work.

"Yep, exactly."

"Shit, Tones!"

Tony knew that the smile on his lips was twisted. "I'm not going to exchange my Iron Man suit for a career as a living flame, don't worry. We stripped most of the weaponized stuff out of the formula."

"It's obviously still not the answer to cure illness in mankind?"

"Nope. I’m a unique case. It would not have worked on me either if my body wasn't already used to filtering the arc's energy into something more organic but it’s still much slower going than Killian’s version. Which is also why I'm not completely healthy again yet, we don’t want to chance overloading it if we don’t have to." Tony tapped an agitated rhythm on the nearest hard surface with his fingers. Which was the cover of the reactor they were talking about. There was more to it, but it would not come into play for a few years.

Rhodey rotated his shoulders to work out some kinks and sighed. "It's also why no one on the Council is salivating at getting you as a guinea pig in a lab. They know that equipping people with your mechanical heart - "

"Not an option." It was one of the more recent reasons why he was so guarded about the arc and this specific information under wraps. Tony didn’t want some poor schmuck to go nuclear with an off-shot reactor in their chest. Some overly curious scientist with inflated sense of competency, too much greed and no morals would try, of that Tony had no doubt. He only had to think about the super soldier serum and the myriad of problems and failed experiments it had caused. Some people would never be discouraged by bad precedent and only concentrate on the one ‘successful’ example, unfortunately.

“Who knows about this?” Rhodey was tense and the tight line of the muscles in his jaw betrayed his disquiet.

“There’s more but it has to do with long term implications and not my current health or security.”

Rhodey moaned. “Of course there is. Again, who's in the know?"

”About what I just told you? Helen, Friday, myself, and now you. Helen sewed me back together and apart from her, no one else knows how truly fucked up I was. Pepper knows parts and I’m sure she guessed the rest and we’ve told the Council the basics. It’s difficult. The arc reactor specifics and the version of Extremis we used, a lot of the vital details are now only available here, I made sure of that. “ Tony tapped his temple. Helen had agreed and they had scrubbed the Cradle of all data.

“They would need not only someone to get it out of me but someone who then actually understands the data.”

“It makes you more of a target. Tones, I know that you will chaff under it, but you’ll never ever go on solo missions again!”

"I’m uncomfortable with the lack of independence.” Uncomfortable was such a mild word.

“The reactor is your Achilles heel again,” Rhodey warned.

Which was unnecessary, Tony had enough nightmares about Obie and Steve going for his 'heart' to never forget about it.

Pepper abandoned typing on her Starkpad and talking in French to whoever had dared to call her in the corner she had retreated to. “Oh Tony! He is such a sweetheart. I know you hate the phrase but you did the right thing. If Odin was a human... ." Pepper let the sentence run off into nothing, but her scowling red lips and the fierce hardness in her eyes promised dire retribution.

“You would help me ruin him?” Tony smiled crookedly.

“With pleasure. But since he isn’t on Earth and SI does not have a branch in Asgard yet, let’s talk about other organizational stuff. How long will Jormungand stay with us? Is he truly and officially your adopted son now?”

Yet? Tony raised one of his hands to disguise the big grin that built on his lips. Valkyries had nothing on an enraged Pepper Potts. And she would make her vengeance lucrative too.

“He’s ours now and frankly… finders keepers. I’m not too happy with Loki either at the moment. He better have one brilliant and believable explanation for why he didn’t break his kid out."

”That makes two of us."

"Three," Rhodey added.

They took a moment to observe Dr. Cho and her patient. The petite woman was patiently explaining something to the kid while she was examining his eyes with a penlight.

“That's too sweet. Cavities inducing sweet. I have the faint worry that we are all being manipulated by an alien entity,” mumbled Rhodey and comfortably crossed his ankles. “A tiny, little bit.”

“Because we are all mother henning and are angry on his behalf?” said Tony and shoved his hands in his jeans pockets.

“You are both ridiculous." Pepper gave them a slight whack to the back of their heads. “I might not be a superhero, but honestly, should I be concerned that you appear to be unhappy because you show some basic human instincts like defense of the young? Boys, I’d be suspicious and disappointed in you if you did not!”

“When you put it that way...” the men shared an embarrassed grin.

Pep reached for her phone, always a sign for approaching misery and Tony waited to see who it would hit.

"What's our strategic approach for keeping him safe? And it should better be a fantastic one." The formidable redhead nodded in direction of child and doc.

Tony stroked his goatee. "Imagine the uproar if someone targeted His Royal Highness Prince George?"

Pepper contemplated that line of thought for a little while, her lips curving into a slow smile. "Yes. I can work with that. Oh yes. We will have to carefully expose him to the public for it to feel organic, and soon, but give me a month..."

Tony laughed out loud. The Civil War had obliterated a lot of personal ties, but the aftermath had mended a precious one as well.

"Jor is much cuter than George."

"Don't you dare say that in public!" both of his friends scolded halfheartedly.

They watched the sun rise high over New York.

 

TBC

 


	7. Horse trading (of warhorses)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't ask. I'm so happy that this didn't happen in November.

 

“Stark.“ Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross didn’t even give the elevator doors the time to open fully before he stormed the stronghold. He snarled and glowered at Tony straight out of the gate. Great modern architecture, a clear summer evening outside with the city glittering like a jewel and Ross resembled an uncultured barbarian invader. The man had no eye for the scenery, really.

The Spice Girls had taken over Tony’s tired brain and were howling about telling what they want, what they really, really want and the tired genius was ready to howl back that he wanted to go to bed and sleep damn it. Even he had his limits and 45 hours plus without real sleep and only cat naps pushed it. But no, he had another hoop to jump through.

“Can I get you anything, Mr. Secretary?” Tony crossed the room to the bar and deliberately turned his back to Ross. The stubborn old goat could follow or not but Tony wouldn’t raise his voice. Thaddeus Ross was not his Daddy and Tony certainly was not four years old and required to submit to his ravings.

Ross grumbled but stomped over and sat heavily down on a high bar chair, his lips curled in a displeased frown. He was clothed in an expensive gray suit that was in dire need of a hot iron and Tony was vindictively happy that someone else had had a long day too.

“I thought there would be full cooperation between us?”

“Which is why you've got more and better access to me than most other people. And, might I point out that I haven't broken any agreement, as far as I know.” Tony opened a package of dried berries, filled some in a small wooden bowl which he then graciously offered his unwelcome guest and held the others back for himself.

“It's the only reason why I'm here personally and without a full company of soldiers!“ replied Ross. "You are harboring an alien!“

And nope, it had absolutely nothing to do with Ross facing a similar problem to Odin when it came to Jor, oh no. Thunderbolt could get away with battling the Hulk and the public would cheer him on, but using the same methods for a cute little munchkin? With the well documented cuteness on hand to rain down on the former General? Ross knew better.

Tony prepared a martini for the old grump and pushed the glass to him. He had seen him drink it before, so why not. His own glass of something fizzy and lime green was waiting since Friday had warned him of the approaching man.

“It was a sanctioned mission, mainly reconnaissance and getting my feet back under me. I went, I dived, I saw an opportunity and acted on it.”

“Next time wait for the professionals to deal with potentially dangerous alien entities.”

Tony didn’t even try the argument that it would have been cruel to leave Jor down there for longer and that he hadn’t been too keen on doing anti-magic tricks directly in front of too curious toadies either.

“Someone else could have gotten to him instead, I didn’t know if anyone had already spilled or sold the information by then. Imagine one of our enemies with that kind of blackmail potential in their hands.” Tony took a mouthful of his drink, swallowed and dared Ross to insist that something like that couldn’t have happened. The man would probably have tried to get his mitts on Jor himself. Tony licked his lips and glared at his glass. No burn, just fruity fizzy stuff.

"It's an alien!"

“Somehow, I can't dredge up a lot of retroactive terror. Not after that oh so dangerous alien has drooled on me. A lot! And, look at me: no acid burns either,” Tony snarked back and threw up his hands.

“You can fool someone else with your huffing and puffing, but I know that you've read the entire file about the mission before coming to my home, including the assessment of professionals. Child psychology and xenobiology aren’t exactly my fields of expertise, but that’s why the council is useful. Some of their reports you might even trust - more than my word.“

Ross glared for a few minutes longer.

His host didn’t give an inch and stared right back.

Thaddeus Ross finally grumbled, sipped his drink and loosened the collar of his shirt.

Tony relaxed a bit. He would never like that guy, not after what he did to Banner. He didn't have to like Ross at all, Tony had to work with him, but as long as the old bastard didn't have an audience to impress he tended to be at least open to  _ some _ compromise.

“Eat some of the fruit or you'll make your ulcers worse.”

“Compton called me personally.” Ross ignored the berries and concentrated on his drink instead.

“Her Excellency is the one woman I'll voluntarily call a Cast-iron Lady. Without any armor or sex involved. She has read you in?”

"I've been appointed an advisory position on the sub-council.” Thunderbolt puffed himself up. "Catching up on the project took most of my day.“

No wonder the man looked out of sorts. That was some heavy reading full of stuff Ross hated: freaks, aliens and what was worse, how to interact with them politely and productively while they were not in a cage with the former General clutching the key in his gnarled, greedy hand.

Ross downed the rest of his drink in one swallow. What a waste of good alcohol. Tony hesitated but then prepared another glass.

“Thank you.” This time the older man was more restrained in his drinking and he had taken a more comfortable posture on his chair and his focus was no longer solely on the inventor. He was taking in his surroundings.

Tony saw how thoughtfully Ross was inspecting the room. He followed the older man’s gaze and tried to find out what had caught his interest. Ross had invaded once or twice before and the room didn’t appear to be significantly different to its accustomed state, not even to Tony’s keen memory. Certainly less tidy than the inventor normally permitted his living space to be. Maybe the former general had a ingrained bad military reaction to untidy rooms?

Some of Jor’s new things had been left in the sunken sitting area. It wasn’t even a big mess, Tony’s bots would deal with it as soon as nobody was in the room for more than half an hour. The rabbit toy- Jor was still puzzled by it- had been forgotten on the big couch, half under a blanket that should have been folded up again and placed in one of the cupboards. Some cushions that belonged on the lounging chairs near the window had found their way to the couch. A few of his personal work tablets were lying around, accompanied by Stark-phones and a laptop. A sippy cup, a pitcher with fresh water; and a very artsy shallow silvery bowl which always held selected fruit and was now standing there half empty.

No super secret blueprints or weapon parts. Nothing that should generate so much interest.

Ross stared at the inventor. “OK, I’ll bite. You want my support for that foolhardy plan? The one where you think we should offer Loki asylum on Earth in exchange for his help? Sell it to me.”

“Earth is in a bad position at the moment.” Tony huffed and spread his fingers. He wanted to pace up and down, but that was unacceptable. Good old Obie, despite his greedy nature, had done him some favors by teaching Tony how to control his body language.

_ 'Tony, my boy, never flail around like a crack house whore, no matter how passionate you are about a topic, it doesn't inspire confidence in a business venture.' _

“Whatever hole Fury is operating out of at the moment, I hope it is cold and rat infested because SHIELD activating the Tesseract? It was the signal for the rest of the universe that there's more to be found on our planet than some primitive apes that hit each other with stones a lot. In the case of the Chitauri gunning for us now, it’s for revenge and a second go at our defenses. Both of us agree that they are on their way here, this time with no portal to cut their journey short. We just don’t know when they will arrive and Thor’s dear daddy-”

“Arrogant bastard isn’t lowering himself to sharing his intel or technology with us simple mortals,” interrupted Ross and deigned to finally munch on some of the offered snacks. “The critters would have knocked on our doors sooner or later, better be aiming back with some damn huge cannons when they do. SHIELD wasn't wrong.”

Of course someone as trigger happy as Ross would salivate over new and bigger guns. Tony could understand up to a point but-

“What we mainly need is more information. Most of our friendly new extra-terrestrial contacts seem to have swallowed the Prime Directive and are of no help. Beyond telling us that we are indeed targets now. As if we didn’t work that out for ourselves. You want me to build something? I can’t design an effective defense if I don’t know what I’m defending against. And I haven't managed to hack the universe.

“Giving Loki back was the best and the worst possible decision. Worst because we lost a potential asset that day. That twisted son of a bitch has a mind like a corkscrew and the power and tenacity to back up his plans. Case in point, that invasion. I’ve seen your files.”

That earned him a halfhearted glare.

Ross had collected some video footage that Tony hadn’t even suspected to exist. Tony did not want to imagine what Ross had demanded in exchange for sharing those very comprehensive files. Maybe it explained why the US Secretary of the State was allowed to have as much sway over the UN. Nobody was fooled by that pasty faced Kulligan or Mulligan that was the official Ambassador, he was only a mouthpiece and Tony doubted that he took a breath (or dared to think) without Ross giving him permission.

“Official access, don’t get excited for no reason. No scolding me, nope. This is not me admitting to anything. You offered to share with the council, the council had me read it for a second opinion. I’m not going to waste time by rehashing what you already know. You’ve come to the same conclusion as I: Loki botched it on purpose. By the way, I can clear up one of the points your analysts weren’t sure about.” Tony offered that little morsel.

Ross waved him to go on.

“Point one: no, he's not dead but we won't tell Prince Thor. Confirming that the rumors of Loki’s demise were wildly exaggerated _ again  _ should be kept on the down low for now if we don’t want Thor to electrocute all of us in one of his infamous temper tantrums. But, as a nice side effect of getting proof that Loki is alive - I’m also able to verify that his eyes are naturally green.

"They do minutely change due to his emotions but never into electric blue range. They are not - that was the second option, yes? - a viking version of a mood ring. During the invasion, from the surveillance files I’d say he wasn’t in complete puppet mode like with Barton. I guess Loki had someone look over his shoulders all right.”

“He wasn’t only playing us, he was giving his master a show as well.” Ross sneered in disgust. “We fell for it. Hook, line and sinker. And thanks to Fury we lost the opportunity to squeeze him for information about the real puppeteer afterwards. You've said that you’ve seen him. Loki's on the planet?” Ross’ bushy eyebrows lowered like thunderclouds.

“No, I don’t think so or he would have shown up by now, as angry as he appeared to be. And he was spitting mad. Wherever he is, he's busy with something important, but he sent me a magical message. Content? Mainly a pissed off God of Mischief threatening me about the welfare of his kid. Can’t blame him for that. It went poof after finishing and didn't leave a trace. Not on my systems and not on my brain, before you ask. I checked both.”

“Magical.” Ross shuddered. “An interactive message? Two way?”

The inventor shook his head no. “Nope. My best guess? Video message, the Space Viking Mage edition.” He would not mention how the contact really had gone down. Dreams and a paranoid hard-ass like Ross didn’t go together well. The last thing he needed was Ross to suspect that Tony was magically compromised.

“If he’s …calling again and it's two way I can ask him to contact the proper authorities. To make sure that any future magical visions will appear to you instead of me,” Tony sweetly offered.

The thought alone visibly horrified Ross. He even backed away a bit from the bar with his upper body as if residue magic might jump over and infest him. “I appreciate the thought, but until I can meet him face to face you are a better point of contact. For now, file extensive reports. Every detail, small or big, and that’s an order and press for more intel whenever you can!”

"Of course." Tony turned away for a second to fiddle with a bottle and look out at New York at night and mentally went back to his selling pitch. He wanted to groan. Trying to put real or metaphorical thumbscrews on Loki? Bad idea.

“And there’s the ‘best decision’ part of my analysis for not keeping him on Earth. Fury would have royally fucked up trying to...  _ entice _ him into cooperating with us and lost any chance for us to try again later. Nick is a piss poor diplomat. Loki’s the type to forever hold onto a grudge. Not a good combination. Chances are excellent that SHIELD would have mortally offended and made a real enemy out of him. I’d rather not witness what that guy would unleash on purpose after seeing what he did when we were only a means to an end instead of his focus.”

They still had to be careful on that front. Tony had spent hours scouring through every snippet of video, every transcription of overheard conversation, recounts of Loki’s habits as witnessed by the scientists he had mind whammied. And everything Foster, Lewis, and Thor had reported about not only the invasion but the incident in London too.

Thor, in his grief, had been only too willing to reminiscent about his little adopted brother. Or his ‘youthful’ adventures in general. The good old times. Some of those tales proved the Edda right and that- Tony shook himself.

Yeah, no. Tony was not a fan of Viking-land, nope.

“The WSC was too shell-shocked by the Chitauri and eager for an easy scapegoat and explanation both. Anything to divert attention from their A-bomb stunt."

Ross smashed his fist on the bar surface. "I still can't believe they did that! I'm all for blowing enemies sky-high, but that-" he huffed and then twirled his mustache without ending his sentence. "Rubble can be rebuilt and humans - there'll always be some collateral, but this would have poisoned our own soil and air and might have caused the end of the USA! The radioactivity would have spread with wind and water!" The man was breathing heavily and the twirling got frantic.

Tony wouldn't have thought it possible but that was one point where he honestly agreed with Thunderbolt, at least in part. He didn't miss that it was the home territory part that had riled up Thaddy. What he didn't need though was the old warhorse to have a heart attack right in Tony's penthouse. He bent down, opened the fridge and fetched a iced bottle of sparkling water, twisted the top and placed it in front of his guest.

"Drink that before you have a coronary."

"Hah, are you discovering your nurturing side, Stark?"

Tony decided to mostly ignored that hit below the belt. "Drink it, or not, but I don't want to deal with your corpse  _ and _ your replacement. Back to Loki. We didn't have the research or background information to not take Thor’s rather skewed views about his foster brother as gospel truth.

"If the last years taught us anything, it is that we’ve been thrown into an intergalactic shark pool. Loki with his age and background would be a great source of information. If we can get him disentangled from Asgard and convince him that he would be valued for his cleverness and support and can be happy on Earth it would be jackpot.”

“We’re not going to hand Loki Earth in exchange for his protection!”

Tony smiled brightly. “Of course not. That would be stupid. I want him, let’s say, firmly by my side.” Let Thunderbolt interpret that as he wanted.

“On a leash? That’s the spirit.” Ross chuckled and sipped his drink. “By the way, what do you propose for keeping that motherfucker in line when we get him on earth outside any plotting and planning? I don’t want him to play with us in between his duties as our guard dog.”

Tony dearly hoped that Loki didn't have the capability to spy on conversations in Dolby surround or they would be in deep shit. Comparing him to an attack dog - If anything the mage reminded Tony of a cat.

“It's a multi-layered plan, Jormungand is only one part. It would be stupid to hitch a beneficial relationship solely on the kid. Additionally, well. I don’t think he enjoyed the Chitauri’s brand of hospitality and would like to pay them back for the treatment he suffered in kind. Other than that, I’ll follow basically the same strategy you've got in my own file about dealing with yours truly.” Tony smiled extra sweetly. “Lots of praise, personal ties and most importantly: don’t let him get bored.”

“I wish we could simply stick him in a cell and only let him out when we need him and use Jormungand as leverage.” Thunderbolt mournfully glared into his glass.

“Historically: bad, bad, really bad idea,” warned Tony and tried not to think about the disaster of that scenario unfolding in his brain.

Ross surprised him by nodding and not reacting to the taunt, even if he looked like he had bitten into something nasty. “Only thing that works for someone like him is giving strong positive incentive and then not trying to think too hard about how they will reach a goal you both agree upon. Thor only seems to get half of that right. That Aether business and how he handled Loki - and to think that the Thunderer bought his foster brother’s death? None of us on Earth who’ve met him swallowed that poppycock for more than a second. To think that Thor has grown up with the fucker and still falls for his schemes, it’s not giving me the best opinion about Æsir smarts, lemme tell you!”

Thor hadn’t given Loki any reason not to search for a way to escape custody after Malekith had been dealt with, had he? Revenge and then pronto back to your prison cell with nothing changed, why should anyone with dignity and brains go along with that happy plan and an endless future in jail?

The inventor sneered faintly.

“I’ll let you handle the public. You will need to explain this to Joe and Jane Average or you’ll have a mutiny on our hands. Ah, yes, which reminds me of something. Have you seen the latest swell of certain conspiracy theories on the net? Curiously they are very in line of what we just talked about.” Ross’ mustache twitched.

Tony mock innocently pointed at himself. “Who? Me? Not my doing! But I’ve seen those rumors and speculations, yep.”

“Good, good. Plausible deniability, you are quite right. Better let the public think they worked it out themselves.” Ross smiled conspiratorially and reached across the bar to clap his host on the shoulder.

“Hm. I say it proves that we’re a lot smarter than Asgard,” Tony said and tried not to shudder and twitch. He needed a shower.

"Boss, may I have your attention? I'm sorry to interrupt." Fri's soft Irish voice made both men straighten their postures.

"The young boss has woken up and is in distress. He is asking for you."

"I hoped he would sleep longer than-" Tony looked at the clock, "three hours?"

"That's something you'll have to learn to plan for. Kids don't run on schedule," Ross offered his advice.

Ross hadn't been father of the year material either, from all accounts, and Tony's second hand knowledge of him via Bruce and the tidbits he had sometimes let slip about Betty and her own relationship with the general.

Tony looked to the stairs that lead up to the bedroom level and wished he could just throw out his visitor. This was day and night compared to the council meeting Jor.

Then Jor divested him of any decision by barreling down the stairs. The kid came to an abrupt stop and frantically searched the room with his amber eyes. Tony didn't know that he had moved but suddenly he was standing between Ross and the kid and was heaving the barnacle up and into his arms.

Ross, of course, was watching the pair with speculation. "I'm on my way out. For the records, Stark, I don't like your plan but I see where you are coming from. Maybe it will work. Next time include me in your scheeming.”

Maybe it will work? Hah, Tony didn't have to be a genius at all to guess that the old warhorse was counting on derailing everything to his own gain. "He's not growing up to be our weapon. I don't like you looking at him with that gleam in your eyes, Ross."

Ross quirked a bushy eyebrow, but didn't reply.

"You never held back your opinion about dangerous freaks."

"Oh, I don't know, he doesn't have to be a freak to be dangerous, does he?“ Ross looks pointedly at the faintly glowing cover of Tony's reactor. "You managed to get very dangerous without any unnatural enhancement at all.”

This was not the time to tell the paranoid bastard that according to Helen Cho Tony actually did have a slight naturally advanced healing factor or he would never have survived that first open heart surgery in the cave. It hadn't been all Yinsen's talent and Tony's mule-headed refusal to give in and die.

Jor was shyly hiding his face in Tony's neck. "So dark," the boy whispered.

"Reports say he's got dehydrated. Bad for kids. We want him healthy, eh?" Ross had went around his host to the sitting area and was now coming back, holding something in his hands. The sippy cup.

Tony staring at the cup as if it was a Hammer-Tech bomb.

"Come off it, Stark. I didn't doctor it, give me some credit. I don't hurt kids."

'Not even if they are what you call freaks?' Tony nearly bit back, but swallowed his words instead and used something else. "You know that I don't like it when people hand me things."

Ross shrugged his shoulders and placed the cup on the bar. "Can't say that I like him but as long as he isn't running around freely and using freakish talents to hurt ordinary people I won't gun for him either. I'd rather have every one of them on my side than as enemies."

Tony contemplated the grizzled old soldier. Jor showed that he had some sense for danger because he was playing possum, his breath jerky in the Tony's ear.

The Secretary of the State changed topic smoothly. "By the way, you will be called upon, and I expect you to comply if we need someone to translate that gobbledygook again."

"You have your own translators!" Norse mythology and Old Norse linguistics had seen an unprecedented push in popularity and funding the last decade. "And it was a program who did my translations of Thor's and Loki's private conversations.”

“Your version was better, even our professional linguist said so." Ross didn't wait for an answer, but strode around the corner in direction of the elevator. Friday was getting good at predicting her creator's' wishes and didn't stop the asshole. Getting rid of him was more important than having the last word.

Tony pouted. "You got all of that, Platypus?" He tousled Jor's curly hair. After washing it with shampoo it had turned out to be springy and really curly - and the shower had been one parenting experience Tony could have done without. Jor didn't like getting his face wet any more than Tony. He tugged at the curls and couldn't be arsed to decide if it was to calm the child or himself down.

"Kid, you've got a talent for the wrong time, I gotta tell you." He sighed and changed to Norse since none of them were wearing earwigs. "Jor, this man, the one that just left the house, he is not to be trusted. If you meet him and I am not near you, avoid him, do you understand? Run and search for me and if you can't reach me do what Friday tells you to do and if he tries to touch you? Shout and cry as loud as you can."

He didn't want to frighten Jor even more, but this was damn important.

"I'm sorry Tones, I tried to catch the little one but he was like greased lightning." Rhodey had come out of hiding and fully down the stairs. "So much for backing you up."

"Can't be helped."

"He'll be trying to use the kid to control you. Or the other way around, oh yes. I'm not liking how he set himself up as a knowledgeable mentor figure. If he tries to get custody by appealing to the courts-"

Tony paused in his patting. "I'll move to Norway. With all of you, the barnacle, the bots, Pepper, Happy, SI. I'll even relocate all of my employees who want to come with me."

Rhodey moaned, his shoulders slumped. “This is something I have to report to my commander. The threat alone should incite some of those fence sitters to move their asses and make Ross back up."

”Let's not use that threat if there's no need. But I'll make some inquiries with my allies in Norway.” Which would create some further ripples in the pond. “Ross' lackeys will think I'm bluffing.

"You are bluffing?"

"Nope."

“Ross is a shoot first, ask for permission never kind of guy. It was one of the reason you tried so hard to reign in Rogers. He gave Thunderbolt too much ammunition. If he's really gunning for the kid – Norway might not be far enough. And it doesn't get much farther than Norway."

Tony looked out in the night sky. “Hm.”

 

TBC

 


	8. Dreams (or nightmares)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: child death mentioned (not Jormungand).
> 
> Belated Merry Christmas to all of you! Thank you all for your kind wishes and reviews, they brightened my days.

 

Dum-E rolled over and delivered the last parts. They were fresh from the production level of his private labs. Tony needed them to finish his current project. For someone who normally concentrated on inventing materials that were hard and durable it had been a true challenge to create something that wasn't intended for anything but softness and comfort. It helped that he hadn’t needed to invent the wheel anew, so to say.

The day had been strange.

Tony carefully adjusted one screw, removed it and stared at the small piece of metal. The edges were uneven at the bottom, which explained why the screw hadn't sunk fully into its hole.

Rhodes had been absent for most of the day, busy with organizing his move and the trillion administrative issues such an endeavor created. Maybe a personal assistant would help, but somehow the genius knew that surprising his friend with one would go badly.

He would have welcomed help for dealing with his own council paperwork bullshit, but eyes only unfortunately meant exactly that. Thus, he had spent half of the day laboring over the files and agreements Compton had given him. A law degree wasn't present in Tony's education history, but after nearly thirty years of being forced to endure legalese in various forms, it was no hyperbole to claim that he at least got the gist and was able to spot most of the loopholes. Didn't change that it was damn boring though, and he would be happy to hand the mess over to a team of carefully selected and vetted lawyers.

Then Ross came and tried to bully him. And ate up more of Tony’s precious time.

Now this - it might look like wasted time too, but it wasn’t, not for the engineer. Creating something, even if it wasn't significant for the success of his plans, simply because he wanted to... Tony smiled softly. It had been a good idea; it reminded him about why he loved what he did and that everything else was only the price he had to pay for being allowed to indulge himself.

Jor had been ever present during the day, content to investigate his new home and was now, it neared 2 o'clock in the morning, safe in his bed again, this time hopefully without any nightmares.

“Oh Tony, I hoped that you would-”

He looked up.

Pepper had entered the penthouse and silently crossed the living room with her stiletto heels in one of her hands and was now looking down at the stylish table and its contents.

It was littered with tools, cables, and spare parts. And soft blue fluff that partly clung to a cobbled together shearing machine. The table had most likely cost a fortune and had been carefully selected by Pep to match the rest of the interior design. It had never been intended to moonlight as a workbench. The surface was certainly not as scratch resistant as the metal table tops downstairs in his workshop.

Tony cringed when he saw her incredulous stare. Dum-E hurried in the direction of the elevator, the traitor.

“I couldn't go to my workshop to assemble this. Jor is terrified of the darkness, he could have woken up all alone again and I would have been on another floor, too far away,” he defended himself. “I'm building him a night light, look.”

He held up the nearly finished object. It was a teddy bear with a false miniature Arc-reactor socket in its furry chest. It had been tricky to alter one of his under suit fabric inventions into faux fur but the result looked very handsome and fluffy. The fabric might also still be stab resistant and bullet proof… but that was not a good main feature for a teddy bear, just a side effect. Friday had helped him tweak the design of a normal bear into-

“Only you would create a plushy that resembles the lines and colors of one of your Iron Man armors.” Pepper carefully placed her precious shoes on the floor, sat down on the couch and took the toy.

“There's nothing wrong with dark gray and blue! ” Originally he had chosen the more iconic red and gold but those were not the colors Jor associated with him yet. Tony had been nearly finished with putting it together before the interruption.  The light was ready to be inserted into the prepared cavity in the chest of the bear. Instead of the hardcover and cold metal of the real arc-reactor the inventor had used one of the clear gel-like coverings he was developing for spacecrafts.

Pepper ruffled the little bear's fur. The gray portion was longer while the blue that represented the ‘helmet’ and front was extra thick and shorn shorter to mimic the panels of the Iron Man.

“Quite the change for your production robots; from big scary armored exosuits to a toy.” She teased then her eyes narrowed.

Tony easily recognized the calculating expression on her face.

“Have you built this from scratch? It's entirely your design? And harmless?”

“Yes, yes and yes.” The inventor answered and took back the bear and with a few hand movements it wasn't heartless anymore. He pressed on the circle and it began to glow softly blue.

“Excellent! Send me the blueprints and I'll have the R&D department review the design. Downgrade it a little bit material wise if it’s too expensive for general audiences. Maybe we can include some optional child safety measures like two way speakers or health scanners. It would sell very well.”

“Always the consummate business woman, Pep.” Tony shook his head and looked at the toy. He wasn't against that per se but-

“If they think it will sell, go ahead. But have them alter the coloration for the IronTeddy, maybe mirror the older Iron Man marks and have them mock up one version for War Machine as well. Add one for Vision, but ask both of them for permission before producing them and offer Rhodey and Vision a fair cut. The light should be altered to gold instead of blue and be in  Vision-Bear’s head instead of chest.”

It was not be a bad idea at all. He could do with good PR and this might make some kids very happy. Jor wasn’t the only one afraid of the dark. “But this particular design? This one is for Jor alone.”

“You big softy you. The number crushers will have first dibbs before we think about marketing this at all. But I like it. I like it a lot. Maybe 12 percent of the profit for some charity.”

“We've got one that supports abused kids.” Tony looked up at the open hallway and the nearly closed door to the guest bedroom. A life as kid's room hadn't been what he had thought these rooms would end up as. At one time the room had been planned as Pepper's suite. His CEO had finally followed him from California full-time and lived in the tower as well, but on a lower level in an apartment of her own. “I'll double the donation out of my own pocket.”

“Now try to get some sleep, hm? I came up to inform you about a public relations issue that has come up, but it can wait until tomorrow morning.”

“If it caught your interest and you thought it warranted my attention it must be urgent.”

“Someone leaked a picture of you on the steps to your private plane with a kid in your arms. Judging the angle and quality of the shot it was one of the airport employees with a smart phone, not a professional camera. Agents tend to take better pics.” She held out her Starkpad with the relevant web-page already up.

Tony ignored the sensational headline and studied the picture. It wouldn’t win a Pulitzer. The view count under the picture was worrying, but not surprising. They had predicted the ridiculous amount of interest.

“I'm surprised the story hasn’t hit the news sooner.” Tony sighed. “Reactions are bad?”

“Polarized. Exploding ovaries on one side and exploding heads on the other.” His former girlfriend huffed and wrinkled her nose in distaste. “If we go by purely Tony Stark Scandal Standard? T-3S? It's worse than the time you've been caught drunk and trying to walk around in my Louboutin heels, but not as bad as the Civil War nonsense.”

Oh, he remembered, it had been fun and a few of the more stuck up board members had looked like they would clutch their pearls any second - or balls in pure defense of their manliness - and faint.

“I rocked those shoes. Your heels and your underwear both, but they didn't get to see the later under my clothes.”

“Carterfield would have had a stroke.”

“Hm. Wasted opportunity, that. If I’d thought of it and been more sober…”

Pepper sniggered very unladylike. “It would have spared us three more years of his assholery. He was one of those who always conveniently had a pen fall down when I walked by so he could try to take a peek. And no instinct for profitable business ideas whatsoever.”

Pepper reached over again and petted the soft bear fur. “It’s really calming. Maybe I’ll get one for myself.” Pep sighed. “Press conference?”

Tony nodded despondently. “Press conference. Set it up for mid-morning tomorrow, Ms. Potts."

“Of course Mr. Stark.” She kissed him on the cheek.

“And x-nay on any mention of the origin of the toy. Not even for PR nonsense! They can guess, but we won’t confirm.”

Pepper fetched her shoes and then looked back over her shoulder. “That would be cheap and that's not our style.”

“Hah, yes.”

.-#-.

 

How did that proverb go? Once is chance, twice is a coincident, but three times is a pattern? And here he was, standing again in that empty, freaky hall with a floor that threatened to get his toes frozen off. Not this time though, by now Tony knew that-

 _Ah, better._ Jeans, T-shirt and his favorite sneakers and he was ready to roll. Or stroll. Tony went directly to the throne.

“Hi Lokes! Nice to meet you again! Let’s skip the threats of torture and dismemberment and go directly to the important questions. Please tell me the All-Daddy is imprisoned somewhere dark, damp, and lonely?”

Six more Lokis appeared, exact copies of seated figure, three for each side of the throne, who proceeded to gracefully lounge on the stairs in what Tony thought were very dismissively arrogant positions. The clones were the ones who answered his questions while the bastard one on the seat of power only smirked.

“And here I thought you were all about avenging dastardly deeds.” The copies crossed their legs and arranged the folds of their battle getup with negligent magical flicks of their fingers.

The armor was the same style as the one Loki had worn during the invasion, but with minute changes. It was less ornate, some of the edged symbols had been changed and Tony indulged in idle internal speculation about the significance, but let it go just as fast. Maybe it was the latest Æsir summer fashion in armaments or maybe the trickster was opposed to wearing the things he had when Hulk had trashed him.

“Deeds like imprisoning rightful god-kings, for example and taking their kingdom on the sly?” asked Tony.

All Lokis smiled coldly and with lots of white teeth on display. “And how did you come to such outlandish conclusions? If this is more than a mere dream I might take exceptions to being accused of treason and retaliate.”

“Well, there's your reputation of trickery, quite deserved if I'm not mistaken, but in this particular case it is your accessories, so to say, that give the play away. You are sitting on a distinctive kind of chair and to clinch it, one I wouldn’t dream up on my own.

"I’m not against gold as a color," Tony elaborated. "not at all, but here it’s a touch too much. Overall this throne is too ugly and with too much curlicue and not enough electronics for something my own brain would come up with. No offense meant.” The last part was a polite lie and both men knew it, but Tony didn’t think Loki would mind because the disdain was not directed at him.

The tricksters all inclined their heads. Freaky.

“After two dreams - A little research, some logical thinking - you know, the kind of brainiac activity that isn’t too popular on Asgard, it wasn’t too difficult to figure out. Now, Odin doesn’t seem the kind of guy who would voluntarily let someone else sit on his mighty chair of power. Ergo, he’s forcefully indisposed.”

“And you don’t seem to be outraged about that suspicion.”

“Some kings are asking for it. I’m pathologically unfond of torturers. You are an asshole and more of the kill them or twist them into torturing themselves kind of asshole. I approve.”

“Oh my, thank you for that charming character assessment.” snarked the tricksters.

Tony bowed. Hey, they were at an alien court, weren’t they? “Always ready to tell it like it is, that’s me. Even in dreams.”

“So you truly think this is more than a dream?”

“This is the third time we are meeting this way and while I’m the special kind of ant - my brain is one of a kind - I generally don’t remember my dreams clearly and-” Tony ticked off his fingers, “if I wanted to imagine some time with you it wouldn’t include this gothic scenario.” Tony made a sweeping gesture to the dreary golden hall to illustrate his point.

“Again, can we please get beyond the threats and angry accusations? I doubt this is counting as REM and even if I hate to say this, I’m in need of a good rest.

Loki on the throne leaned forward with narrowed eyes. “You are one exceptionally aggravating ant,” one of the copies drawled in his stead.

Tony leaned forward as well, smiling widely. “But I’m not boring and there are no windows here to be thrown out of- oops.”

Of course windows would appear all around them, displaying only dark empty spaces on the other side, because he had thought of them! He had no doubt that, if he was going out of those, he would end falling through the void again, with a golden throne floating merrily beside him. No doubt at all and no, he wasn’t ready for that experience. Maybe something at ground level would be better, like Central Park.

The genius concentrated and then looked around. It was a warped version of the park but still recognizable as what he had intended it to be. Sue him, but he had never paid much attention to plant details and now thanks to his imagination they resembled something out of a bad CGI movie more than the boring trees and bushes of reality.

Oh. And now some of them were robot-plants.

Throne and occupant were here as well, unchanged and sitting in the middle of the lawn like some tribute to a long dead romantic poet. Which confirmed some of Tony’s theories. He tried to make the throne into a threadbare beach chair and nothing happened.

“You’ve taken me back to the place of my humiliation.”

The inventor snorted. He would have thought his penthouse would fit that bill better, but whatever.

“I aimed for public, boringly on the ground, and harmless. I don’t associate the park with you, sorry.” Loki was neither boring nor harmless.

“But back to Hurlcrsomething-"

“Hlidskialf.” The trickster was, in contrast to the two dreams they had shared before, calm and reserved, at least on the surface. Tony didn't trust the sharp slant of the trickster's mobile mouth.

“Thank you, I know how to write it but pronouncing it is beyond me.” All his newly acquired language knowledge didn't help with the more exotic words.

“Naturally. Have you dreamed of me often, little mortal?” purred the trickster brigade.

“I admire a pert ass and yours is an exceptional example.” Tony bit back any further tease. Loki might have spurred the suggestive exchange on, but the coldness behind the green eyes? No, not really appealing.

“How fairs my son?"

Tony blinked and took in how Loki seemed to brace himself defensively. Asking for information about your kid shouldn’t warrant that caution, ever.

“Oh. I should have led with that, shouldn’t I? Jor is doing well,” he softly said and flopped down on the unnaturally evenly green and bug-free grass. “Your kid is living with yours truly. In my tower, you know the one? I’m new at this guardian thing but I try to provide him with everything he might need. I like the little guy and I would never stick him in a glass cage or hurt him or whatever else you might imagine and I wouldn’t let others do that to him either, so please, don’t worry about Jor being miserable. Apart from missing his family… he’s a very resilient and brave kid. My doctor says that the imprisonment has left him with some issues -”

Loki snarled and Tony hastily continued.

“But none of them chronic. Nightmares, of course and he does not want to be alone. Totally understandable. We’ve treated the dehydration. His kidneys? Are working fine and haven’t been damaged. The malnutrition will take longer to cure, but it isn’t severe. He’s underweight and I was advice to watch for issues related to that.” Tony gave Loki a once over and hastily hid a grimace. He didn't think that Loki would take any offers of concern with grace.

The layered leather and metal battle gear the trickster favored disguised the body beneath but Tony wasn’t a specialist for armor for nothing and he could tell that Loki wasn’t a healthy weight for his height either. Tony admired those sharp cheekbones, but they didn’t need to be so prominent.

Tony had expected the fresh out of the torture chambers look to have faded since Loki’s explosive entrance onto Earth, but whatever the trickster was up to nowadays, he hadn’t penciled in much R&R.

“Which reminds me, I’ve made a list about question I should ask you.”

“Questions.” Loki’s formed the word like it was a curse.

“Relax, there’s cautious and then there’s paranoid. Nope, you’ll want to answer these, the universe can keep it’s secrets, for the moment I’m all about keeping my head over water when it comes to babysitting. Not a skill in my usual wheelhouse, sorry,” Tony babbled and suppressed a wince. Maybe he should have left out his musings about his own inadequacy. It wouldn’t inspire confidence in him.

“Ask.”

Ignoring the clones Tony concentrated on Loki. “Most importantly, does Jor have any allergies or special dietary needs or other chronic conditions? I tried to ask him, but Alfheim food and Earthgard cuisine don’t seem to have a lot in common. The basics match but spices and nuts? Nope.”

“I applaud you for your diligence and I am positively surprised by the care you are showing my son. To answer your questions, He prefers fish and vegetables to heavy meat dishes. My kind aren’t subject to those health issues humans are so prone to, you have no reason to worry.”

Throne and Loki faded from view.

Tony startled.

The clones didn’t disappear, they arranged themselves around the inventor on the grass, each of them daintily tugging their feet under and staring at Tony as if he was a specimen in a cage that was ready to perform some mildly interesting trick.

The master of the dream, because yep, that was NOT Loki alone here, gave them some colorful blankets to sit on and spare them dream grass stains on their fancy getup. Wasn’t that considerate? Tony stretched and scrutinized the park until a reflection caught his attention and he nodded to himself.

The pond, originally murky and boring, now acted like a viewing portal and on the other side he could see Hliwhatever and the real trickster.

None of the copies showed a reaction to their new more comfortable seating, they were all staring at him with faces that looked hard, like carved out of granite. “Now that we have dealt with the formalities you can stop the pretense of caring. Name your prize for the freedom of my son and his continued well being.”

"Oh, come on!"

"You want to tell me that you’ve just stumbled over him and are now playing guardian out of the goodness of your heart? Do you think I am a fool?!? I've been searching for my child on Midgard for a very long time. Breaking a spell that is supported not only by the All-father’s magic but by the Odinforce is nearly impossible, but I would have at least been able to alleviate Jormungand's loneliness. And then you come along and free him and now you are acting as if this occurrence happened purely by chance!"

This would be a good opportunity for Tony to ask for cooperation, a major check point achieved for the plans the mortal had set in motion. Loki was practically demanding him to do it. With a subtext of fury and anger. Tony hesitated.

He glanced at the rippling surface of the pond and wishing for a clearer view.

“It’s that hard to decide between the possible services you wish me to perform?” the clone to his right asked, one eyebrow raised mockingly.

Tony rubbed his face and wondered how he could get a headache while dreaming. “Let’s get one point clear.” He hesitated again and then went on with grim determination. “Correction: two points and I know that you’ll not believe that I’m sincere, but whatever. Firstly, I’m not a fan of coercion. I like my partners willing, in every aspect of my life.” Taking down criminals didn’t count as lack of consent. “And secondly… I’m not the sort of  callous bastard who would take disappointment with the parent out on an innocent kid! I freely admit that I’ve searched for Jor because I wanted to get a heavy hitter in defense of my planet.”

By now he had guessed that Loki could only hurt him with his words and not his conjured dream bodies. Otherwise he would have one of those wicked daggers the Lokis were now pointedly playing with at his throat. It was nevertheless a very uncomfortable sensation to have the specters reach for him, but not being able to touch.

The look he got promised dire retribution.

As if he had read the inventor’s thoughts the Lokis snarled. “Be aware, we will meet outside a dream again!”

“Oh come on Reindeer Games, let me at least finish, yeah? While I don’t believe that you are hell bent on ruling us measly humans, you do not hold us in high regards-”

Loki inclined his head in assent, but didn’t lessen his glare. “True.”

“-and I also think that you don’t particularly regret the loss of life and the destruction you caused in New York. You did the best you could, mainly for yourself, with the options open to you-”

“True again.” Loki had calmed down somewhat and smiled sardonically. “Quit trying to flatter me.”

Tony didn’t know if he should find that change reassuring and eyed the curve of Loki’s mouth. Nope, not really. “You don’t fit the altruistic hero mold. There has to be something in it for you. I would not have tried to force Jor, or for that matter you, to play obedient little soldier, I wanted to give you motivation to fight for us of your own volition. My opinion about your character took a huge hit when I saw how young Jor is. I would have killed Odin for-”

“Don’t you think I didn’t try to free my children? Odin always denied any culpability and called my pleas a sick call for attention. I came home and found the woman who I employed as my housekeeper murdered, signs of a fight and my precious children gone!

"One of the first things I did after seizing the throne was to search for Jormungand, but Hlidskialf is loyal to Odin still and reluctant to my demands. And finally three days ago she relented, I was overjoyed, but it was a cruel joke because what do I find? Him in the hands of my enemy,” the Loki to his right snarled, his chest heaving and his face contorted, Tony didn’t turn to look if the others matched.

“Enemy is such a misleading description. I would describe our relationship more as mutual enmity with a big dash of respect and lots of potential for improvement. And is that a complaint I hear? Sheesh, I thought you'd be happy about Jor no longer playing Prisoner of Azkaban.”

“No, you numskull, of course I prefer him out of his prison! But you are going to draw attention to him and the next time the All-father will not be content with imprisonment and denying his mere existence, he will have Jormungand executed! Killed because he is the offspring of a monster!” Loki seethed.

“Then it is a good thing that the All-daddy is wherever you’ve stashed him for the moment. And don't talk like that about yourself, I've been told that's not healthy,” Tony scolded and aimed for disarmingly playfully but-

An angry shout rattled the surrounding greenery and made differently colored cousins of Redwing take flight.

-missed the mark by far.

“It is pure chance that Thor is currently on Midgard! When he isn’t there he is always pestering Heimdall for tales of his mortal shield brothers and his lady love, and of course Heimdall indulges him,” raged Loki.

Tony understood the guys frustration and pain, but he refused to be intimidated and scowled back at his Loki clone of choice and ignored the other five. “Don’t get your leather knickers in twist, we spotted that problem ourselves before we set out to free Jor and like the resourceful and inventive mortals we are, we came up with a solution. No idea if there’s some kind of gossip rag for sorcerers, but you might have heard of him. Dr. Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme? He’s given me a charm for Jor, some kind of notice me not magic imbued in a wrist cuff.”

The genius had added his own brand of security measures to the cuff, entirely fashioned for the more earthly threats though.

“I am familiar with the Order of Kamar Taj and what their mortal magic can achieve. That kind of charm is not foolproof. It convinces the eyes of a casual observer to ignore the protected subject, to glide over them without arising curiosity, but someone who is actively searching for someone and determined will not be discouraged this easily.” Loki pressed out between his teeth.

“Strange explained that restriction, but feel free to come to Earthgard personally for a visit and add your own brand of warding. Or replace it if a mortal spell is offending your magical sensibilities. And maybe, if you are feeling magnanimous, you could explain the science behind the magic to me. Better than Strange, hopefully. It was all mystic and power of the mind and other esoteric things.”

"I’m reduced to trusting you because I can’t leave Asgard if I don’t want my charms to topple and disintegrate. Too much hinges on the completion of my plans."

"Not even for a short visit?“

"I cannot give the throne back yet, not for any reason short of the imminent end of the world, you foolish mortal! What do you think I’m doing? I am not sitting on this throne because I want to rule, because I’m greedy, selfish, and jealous and-”

Tony winced but didn’t try to interfere again and instead let the mage rave and rant. Within a few sentences Loki slipped into his own mother tongue. Maybe Loki had never voiced his anger in front of an audience before and needed the release. There had been enough pent up energy to fuel a good rant in their encounter.

The clones began to stalk across the lawn, sometimes crossing each others paths and instead of taking steps to the side and going around each other, they simply slipped into the other clone and out the other side, which was really creepy to watch. Some of the hissed and snarled phrases were even more disconcerting to witness and Tony felt like an involuntary voyeur. Jötnar. Monster.

Tony let him vent and chewed on his own speculations instead. There was new data to dissect. Giving the throne back would tore asunder Loki's plans - those words implied that Loki suspected that Odin would undo whatever preparations the mage had organized already, out of anger or out of mistrust for his foster son's intentions. This was of course only an option if the angry sorcerer had only stuffed the old king in a closet for safekeeping instead of offing him outright. Then Thor would have to step in as ruler of Asgard and as much as Tony respected the Thunderer as an asset on a battlefield - that guy could really throw a punch and lay waste to his enemies and he might not be a genius, but he was perceptive - the same guy in the position as the leader of a multi-racial alien bug-be-gone force? Ouch.

Silence alerted Tony that Loki had run out of steam. He looked around. The Loki-lookalikes took a deep breath in turn and then as calmly as you please returned to their spots, still marked by the blankets and carefully sat down.

“I’m preparing the nine realms for war. The Chitauri are coming and they will lay waste to your world and mine. There will be no safe place for anyone left on any of Yggdrasil's branches. Not for you, not for me, and not for Jormungand.”

“Let's give them an explosive welcome. Looks like we have a goal in common!" Tony encouraged.

Loki still had the air of a thundercloud, which, considering his distaste for his brother and Thor's sphere of influence, was funny.

Tony's mouth twitched and Loki glared at him.

"You have won for now. Keep my son safe and we will meet again in dreams. A direct exchange of information would be out of character for Odin, but I will send a messenger with an amulet that should bolster the _minor_ spell you had made to adequate proportions."

"You can say it's for me, a reward for blowing up the Chitauri." Something Jor had mentioned bothered Tony and since he guessed that their Tet-a-tet was coming to an end he outright asked.

"Jor asked about Fenrir."

Loki stilled.

"I wanted to offer-" Tony haltingly spoke, he was never someone who did well with emotional subjects but this was too important, "if you know where he is or are able to find his location, we could try and see if my methods would work on his chains, but-"

All of Loki's copies disappeared without a trace and only broken words reached Tony's ears.

“He's been with Hela for centuries.” And the surface of the pond turned to regular water.

 

.-#-.

 

Small hands patted his cheeks and dispelled the anguished green eyes that had followed him to wakefulness. Tony moaned, rolled over and buried his face against his warm, comfy, fluffy pillow. Good bed, warm bed.

Tony turned his head and opened one eye to glance at his visitor. Jor was standing at Tony’s bedside, his new, trusty best teddy friend clutched to his chest.

“Bad dream?” Tony asked.

“Teddy had a nightmare,” Jor earnestly stated and then gnawed at his lower lip.

Tony moaned again and risked a look at his watch.

Four am.

At least the kid had slept for a longer than the night before.

“Teddy, hm?” Should Tony be happy that the kid was acting like a human child or concerned? When he had gone to bed, after delivering one very special nightlight to the barnacle, the kid had appeared to not know what to think about the more fluffy side of the gift.

Jor nodded. “He does not like the dark either and I am too little yet to defend him,” the kid whispered it like a secret.

“Iron Man to the rescue. All right, climb in. But only tonight.“

"My bed’s blanket is softer,” Jor proclaimed, but wriggled under Tony’s thousand count Egyptian cotton comforter. Whatever. The drama queen gene seemed to be dominant in the family. Tony tugged the kid in, sacrificed one of his pillow to the noble cause and tried for another few hours of sleep, hopefully uninterrupted.

 

TBC

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't kill me? I want to point out that I wrote 99% of this chapter a month ago^^. I had to bite my tongue anytime someone mention Fenrir and I'm kind of sorry but I needed him dead (which sounds horrible).


	9. Press (under pressure)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to wish everyone a Guten Rutsch and Prosit Neujahr! Happy Sylvester! Here's a little present ^^. Big Thanks to silver_drip for cleaning up my mess.

 

“Damn, Tones. every reporter on the East-coast seems to be down there.”

Tony snorted, didn’t comment otherwise and inspected himself in the wall-high mirror instead. Tony Stark didn’t follow trends, he created them, but involuntary wardrobe faux passes were something that could get him into trouble nevertheless. Today he had decided on a severe charcoal pinstripe suit and pepped it up with a bright red tie. The ensemble had a retro touch and was tailored to his body.

"Aren't you missing something?" Rhodey gestured to the billionaire's face.

”No discrete stage make-up today, my PR specialist insisted. Apparently my raccoon look won’t incite accusations of debauchery for once, but deep felt sympathy in any parent that watches."

Rhodey's expression was priceless. "Really?!?"

"Don't look at me. I'm only following orders."

“I don’t envy you. PR is a bitch.” Rhodes bumped his shoulder to Tony's in encouragement. “I prefer staying up here with the munchkin. Where is he, by the way?”

“In his room. Fri is keeping an eye on him.” Tony wrinkled his nose. Maybe he should have gone with the green tie instead? No, green was not his color at all, no matter how much Jor had insisted that he should choose it. How that tie had found a way into his collection, and how the barnacle had zeroed in on it, was one of the crazy things Tony preferred not to think too hard about.

“He’s still pouting, Boss. Thirty minutes till showtime. Ambassador Compton has sent a missive that the Sokovia Accords Council will release their own press statement about the Norway mission and that she might send her attaché to make an appearance during your press conference. Two birds, one stone.”

Tony nodded absentmindedly. Green, bha. Those big sad yes had nearly gotten him to give in but - nope.

"Boss?" Friday sounded hesitant. "I don't think it is good that lil' bro has just crawled under the bed and refuses to come out."

The books had insisted that a good parent shouldn't indulge ever whim of the child. On the other hand Jor was traumatized. Tony hesitated and sought help by throwing a look at his best friend, but Rhodey raised his hands in the universal gesture for 'no idea'.

"So much for turning over a new leaf. But yeah, let's not disappoint the paparazzi by being on time for a change."

"But you are honestly getting to use an until now never heard of excuse," Rhodey added and followed Tony.

"Why don't you chose more age appropriate furniture and stuff with Jor while I'm gone? It will give you something to do. Use one of my trusted supplier's websites and have everything delivered. That should keep him distracted and Friday can point out the best stores. For someone without a body she has developed a talent for hunting down products." And Tony would be spared a shopping trip. He hated shopping.

Tony peeked into the kid’s room. The bedroom suite beside his own master rooms still held the air of waiting to be photographed for a Beautiful Modern Homes magazine: uninhabited and making everyone who dared to enter fear to disturb the glossy magazine finish. Tony thought it had no soul, but would never be stupid enough to say that aloud to Pepper. He dearly hoped that in a few days Jor would transform the space into something resembling the kid's own version of Harley Keener's garage; something entirely his own space.

The only sign that this room was occupied was that someone had arranged the bedding in a way that the gap between floor and mattress was shrouded.

"Do you really want to let a five year old alien go wild with your credit card? I don't think he would know what to make of Toys“R”Us. You'll end up with a gigantic jungle gym or, alternatively, bearskin rugs everywhere."

Tony went to his knees and peered under the queen sized bed. "Use your own judgment. You are always the one who claims that your part in our successful partnership is applying common sense to my crazy.” He switched to Old Norse. “Hey there, kiddo. What's the problem?"

The space wasn't dark. Teddy's light had been turned up to the highest setting and was illuminating the artificial cave quite nicely. Jor was huddling in the middle, the bear placed in a vanguard position in front of him.

Jor blinked at him.

"Why are you frightened? Are you hurt?"

No answer was forthcoming only more unhappy glances and blinks. Tony would be able to reach the kid if he lied down flat on the floor and stretched which no, he didn't want to do that because what was the next step? Pulling Jor out by force?

"Come out, everything is fine."

The boy shook his head stubbornly. The facial expression he sported? Tony had seen it in his dreams: down-turned corners of his mouth, eyebrows drawn tight over the nose. There was no chance in hell that the mini-menace was giving in to sweet words.

"If you feel safe under the bed it is all right. Rhodey will stay with you and I am going to be back soon as well." The adult smiled and then heaved himself up again, trying to smooth out any wrinkles on his suit at the same time. His robots were valiant warriors in their fight against dust bunnies, but suits were not made for kneeling.

“No!” An earsplitting exclamation lashed through the room and a kid-torpedo launched himself against Tony.

“No leaving! Nononono….”Jor wrapped his arms around Tony’s legs which caused the genius to stumble and reach for the bed frame.

Damn, that little guy had a good grip considering his size. There went the last hope for the immaculate state of his trousers.

“Jor!” Tony knew better by now to try and loosen the barnacle’s hold by gentle force. “I know you did not approve of my clothes but this is no way to behave?” Tony helplessly glanced to his best friend.

“Still no idea Tony.” Rhodey raised his hands defensively.

“You are not allowed to leave me!” sobbed the kid.

“It is not for long. I will be back in less than an hour.”

Jormungand tightened his hold and shook his head violently.

“You are going to cut the blood-flow off,” grumbled Tony.

“Father said the same. About coming back soon.”

Oh. OH! The adults exchanged guilty stares. Tony felt dumb, not an emotion he was used to. His suit was ruined anyways so- he reached down and heaved the kid up so he could cuddle him. Too thin arms snaked around Tony’s neck.

“There are a lot of people amassing in front of my house. I have to address them.”

“Angry people?” Jor mumbled against Tony’s neck.

Taking into account that Jor might react negatively to a lie Tony chose his words carefully. “Nosy people. They heard about you and are worried for your safety.”

“Why? You are a good protector.”

“They do not know him like we do." Rhodey added helpfully and one of his big hands reached for the kid.

The boy flailed back harshly and yelped in surprise, panic on every line of his face, that Tony had trouble holding him steady. Hitched breath, gray skin, blown pupils - Tony recognized the signs and grimly sat down on the bed, the child's back to his front and calmed his own breathing to a slow and deep rhythm.

"Try to breathe in the same rhythm I am using. In. And out." Tony soothed and rubbed the thin chest in concert to the breathing frequency he wanted.

"Rhodey, can you hand me the bear?"

"Of course." His friend took great care to stay out of the child's line of sight and delivered the toy to its owner's arms.

"Should I call Pepper and have her cancel the press conference? Maybe she can go in your stead."

Tony shook his head. "Only if it is unavoidable. We have a small time window to establish our narrative, if we aren't proactive and convincing, someone will come up with the dangerous monster schtick instead, and you know how difficult it is to change initial perceptions." The slow rocking motion got more comfortable as Jor calmed down. If he was anything like Tony, he would be shaky for quite some time.

"Shhhh... Rhodey-bear would never hurt a hair on your head. What was it that startled you?"

Jor sniffled.

If anyone challenged him about being a neglectful guardian and heartless he would refer them to his dry cleaner for the proof of the opposite. Snot was not a fashion statement.

"Black skin."

Rhodey blanched and his shoulders slumped.

Tony stiffened.

"Like the man that hurt me."

Oh. Flashback. Not fucked up racist nonsense. Tony struggled with his words. "You know, Rhodey is a great guy, Jor, and he would defend you to the death. He's brave and strong, you have that in common. You can trust him, he is nothing like the cruel man."

One amber eye peeked up at him."'m not brave and strong."

"Yes, you are. And some people call him cutting names he does not deserve. Just like those horrible warriors did with you."

"Why?"

Tony watched the kid fearfully turn his head and glance at Rhodey, swiftly averting his eyes again.

"They think he's ...ergi because of the way he looks. They are mistaken and stupid, but the words hurt." Ergi might not be covering the issue, but as far as Tony understood it, it was just as idiotic in a similar way.

Jor gasped, his eyes wide. "I am sorry! I do not want to act like the Watcher! I only saw ... dark skin and suddenly I was  _ there _ again. Warrior Rhodey was always nice and helped and I did not mean to  _ hurt _ him and..." the kid struggled to turn around and for the first time since they rescued him the kid reached for the dark skinned adult.

Rhode had observed silently, letting the kid initiate contact, now he sat down beside the pair.

Jor didn't let go of Tony, he only leaned sideways until he could look up at the other adult and stare at him intensely. The small nose wrinkled. "I don't ... you. Don't resemble him. No glowing golden eyes, no sneer."

That description sounded suspiciously familiar, where had Tony heard that before? It had to have been Thor, but Point-break wasn't big on outward descriptions.

Tony's cell vibrated. It never vibrated. Friday must have interfered with his programming to send him a message. Duty was calling.

"Can I leave you two alone? I promise, I will hurry."

Both friend and kid squirmed, but Jor didn't protest anymore and crawled over to Rhodey.

Tony inspected his ruined outfit and then winked at Jor. "Green tie it is..."

 

.-#-.

“Boss?”

Tony waited for the elevator to descent. “Baby girl, that's not a tone of voice I’m used from hearing from you. What's the matter?"

“I agree with Jor. You shouldn’t go out there, at least wear the Iron Man suit? That way I can defend you.”

“I’m wearing my wristwatch and security has an eye on the plaza. I'll be covered by the projecting roof, no chance for snipers, and the windows are bulletproof.

"People are stupid and not acting logically. They have really faulty programming," Friday complained.

"Tell me something I don't know."

.-#-.

 

“The public is concerned about harm coming to the child in your care due to negligence, especially since, ah, where is it? Yes. 'Tony Stark often might have the best of intentions, but we all know that he cannot be trusted to follow them up with responsible actions. Nobody with sense would let him take responsibility for a child. He should not be allowed to influence impressionable young minds.” Christine's cherry pop red lips curved into a smile while she read aloud from her notes.

Not even one minute on the podium and his favorite reporter has raised her voice. Tony would take bets that she could have recited them by memory instead.

Miss Everhart was an accomplished show-woman. The billionaire could admire Christine's poise and perfectly calculated timing, but it didn't incite any will to let her dominate the stage.

Tony smiled at her over the top of his sunglasses and quirked one eyebrow. “Is there a question directed at me anywhere in that, Christine? Or are you mainly interested in a comment on all those rumours? So, everyone is concerned about my parenting skills, or the lack of the same. How very civic minded all those concerned people are, it gives me such hope for our society. Now, frankly, I understand that people are startled, the thought of me,” he opened his arms to showcase himself in all his well documented genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist glory and smiled self-deprecatingly; “in combination with an innocent kid, that’s hard to swallow. A few days ago I was among those who thought it unlikely to occur. But alas, it happened. You’ve got the pic to prove it.”

That earned him a few laughs from his audience.

“Which is why I called you here today, hm? The rumors have taken over the media and I don’t want a riot. Or some people trying to take matters into their own hands by trying to ‘rescue’ a child they think is in danger. Which, points for initiative, but there’s no need. I've seen that statement Christine, it's one of the more popular accusations. One little pic and people lose their minds.”

Tony shook his head and sighed dramatically. “There are also - often on the same website - claims that I brought my illegitimate lovechild home, that I grew that kid in a test tube to experiment on it and try to move my soul into it to live forever, that I built myself a robot kid - honestly, why should I? - that I kidnapped some random toddler off a sidewalk with the mom demanding in tears, live on YouTube, that I should give him back with a lot of money to sooth her trauma, that I hired some child actor to manipulate the public opinion in my favor- and those are the less ludicrous ones.” Tony used his fingers to count down the separate rumors and rolled his eyes.

“You faked that picture and then leaked it!” shouted one reporter. “It is obviously photo-shopped!”

The inventor ignored him. This was supposed to be mainly a statement, not a Q&A session. “I've been asked to speak and clear up some of the rampant rumors. Yes, I can add legal guardian to my titles and I’ve got the papers to back that up. Now, for the questions of who he is and how he got into my custody...”

The crowd followed his every gesture, even those people who disliked him.

“I'll start with the how. Iron Man and War Machine had been called upon for a recon mission. Something simple, mainly to try out our new tech and to get back into the groove. Classified, but I can tell you that a small child was not the objective. Some ass-hat had imprisoned the kid in an underground cell and used a time spell to lock him away. I couldn't leave him there."

_ Hah, and not one real lie among his words. _

"I can corroborate Dr. Stark's claims as truthful," a cool voice sounded to his right, as if called by his thoughts. Tony turned his face.

Barbara Compton herself, accompanied by three bodyguards, had appeared and was now climbing the speaker's dais, icy and collected.

Tony had wondered if the UN would send the promised attaché, some press secretary, but this was a surprise. He exchanged a short look with Pep, then concentrated on the reporters and observed the mood of the crowd.

"To those who don't know her Excellency, may I introduce Dr. Barbara Compton, the chairwoman of the UN Sokovia Accords Panel that deals with Iron Man." He offered her a respectful head nod and held out his hand to invite her to the microphone.

"Good morning," Compton greeted everyone and looked at the crowd with the mien of an experienced school teacher who was faced with a class full of unruly teenagers.

The reporters shuffled around and quieted down, but it wouldn't take more than a minute until they had adapted to the new source of juicy news.

"I will not take questions either. Any requests for further information can be handed in at the appropriate public relations office at UN headquarters. I trust that you are all intelligent enough to find the right address."

Oh, burn. But Compton was more salty and less noncommittal than Tony had thought she would be. Maybe the similar crowd in front of the UN building which had congregated there yesterday to demand answers had annoyed the Briton more than Tony had thought possible.

"On the 19th of August Dr. Anthony Stark and Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes were officially in the middle of a mission for the Council. The objective was to test the infrastructure and organization side of the new regulations. The advanced sensors of the Iron Man armor recorded an irregularity and Iron Man investigated. He found a child who was hidden and held prisoner by magical means. There is no reason to be alarmed, it was maliciously done. The intention was not to contain a dangerous individual. Jori is a very intelligent young child, but he is not a threat. We cannot determine how long exactly he has been inside the cell, but it has been more than at least eight centuries. He has formed a close bond with Dr. Stark and we think that for compatibility and security reasons it is a sensible solution to award custody to Dr. Stark. That is all I'm prepared to say." She stepped back.

Jori was close enough to be recognized later as a feasible nickname for Jormungand, but not obvious enough to clue anyone in just yet.

Tony took over. “Don’t get your hopes up, I won’t introduce him to the public officially anytime soon because he is in no way ready for that kind of circus. Jori is still suffering from the aftereffects of his imprisonment and is severely traumatized. And yes, he’s going to get professional help, before you ask.

"I reiterate, I didn't see this coming either which doesn't mean that I'm not going to do my best. Believe me when I say that you don't have to fear for the well being of a child in my care. No more than you're worried about your own kid managing skills. This spectacle and some of the words I've heard being flung around is proof that there is a difference between your kids and mine and the danger for Jori? They are more likely to come from outside his home."

The muscles in Tony's face froze and he glared at the listeners in front of the stage and whoever was watching the broadcast.“I want to use this opportunity to drive one thing home. I don't share my father's negligent attitude when it comes to protecting children in my care. Anyone who dares to maliciously bring harm to, or helps someone else act against the best interest of my kid? I will make my crusade against the Ten Rings look like a backyard scuffle in retaliation. That includes nosy reporters who endanger his privacy.”

Tony gave it a few seconds to let that sink in and scrolled through his Starkphone, always keeping one eye on his audience and ignoring the avalanche of questions that swelled up. Pepper had been the first to think about the different rights between adult and minor in the media and had dug up any laws on the books but he knew these bloodhounds all too well to have any confidence in their decency or respect for the laws.

Another swipe of his thumb and the inventor located the pic he had been searching for. Rhodey had taken it during breakfast. Tony enlarged it and had it displayed as a hologram, then held out his hand and presented it.

“The snapshot that's plastered all over the internet is very bad quality. Isn't it nice of me to provide you with a better one?” Tony couldn't help himself and snarked. Yes, let his enemies get a better idea of who not to mess with. And the rest of the audience something to coo at.

Tony was biased, but going by Pepper’s reaction, Jor was indeed one cute kid.

The picture was cropped and showed Jor in half profile with his cheek pressed against a man's shoulder and his eyes closed, hiding their unusual color. The identity of the person holding him was only revealed through the line of chin and distinct goatee that cut the upper right corner.

Tony's gaze swept over the reporters, judging their reaction. “No, you don't get a copy. And that's it.”

Of course the hyenas were trying to get a meaty soundbite to feed the hungry masses. Tony was ready to go with the closure spiel that had been prepared for him, but he hesitated. One of the reporters senses an opening and hurled a completely unconnected question at the dais.

"What happened in Siberia?"

The memory of the agent at the airport in Norway was pulsing inside his head like a warning sign. Iron Man had made some very passionate enemies in his career, but the so called Civil War had polarized everyone down to people who would otherwise not care one bit. Agents, the public, everyday people that had never met Tony Stark and Steve Rogers in person where taking sides.

That female agent in Stord had glared at Tony with distaste, all right, but she had also stared with anger at the innocent kid Tony had been lugging around . She could have been some weirdo who was disgusted by kids or someone who legitimately hated Tony Stark, but... his gut said otherwise.

Hate by association, it was ugly reality. His friends and allies were all adults and could defend themselves, Jor could not.

Tony had taken a look at his inbox yesterday, rigorously filtered by one of his programs he had written for only this purpose. Not Friday, he didn't want her to get her circuits dirty. There had been so many sweet letters, expressing well-wishes for Jor and him. There had been a note from the post division that small toys and handwritten letters by kids for Jor had been delivered and how Tony wanted to deal with that? He had no idea whatsoever.

Then there had been the other end of the spectrum. Those he new what to do with, they had gone directly to legal.

“The conflict in question,“ he began carefully and slowly waiting until the restless crowd in front of his speaker's podium had quieted down completely before continuing with lots of bite “is part of an ongoing international investigation and forgive me if I don't want to compromise a lawful result just to satisfy your curiosity.“

That, of course, riled the sharks up into a feeding frenzy. heir demands and their clamoring loudly for answers were deafening.

Pepper had gone stern and regal as she glided back to his side. Tony shook his head and offered her a small smile in reassurance.

“Nevertheless-” he made a sweeping gesture with his hands and then took off his trademark sunglasses. Which was the signal for the reporters to shut up.

Who would have guessed, they could be trained if you played on their need to not miss anything.

“Nevertheless, I'll offer you something to work with and it won't be hear-say or an opinion either. These are facts you can verify. Some you might have come across on your own, but didn't, at least I haven't seen it mentioned in the media. I wonder why? “ Tony smiled at them brightly, his eyes glittering.

"Oh yes, Siberia. Thanks to some asshat who thought his bank account is more important than professional ethics you already have one big piece of the puzzle. The picture of my bleeding, mangled chest has been published everywhere for about two weeks. The shape of the injuries are very distinct and comparable to those of other… victims with similar injuries."

He ignored the questions and accusations thrown at him and loosened his green tie with a flourish, let it hang open around his neck, then opened the first three buttons of his black silk shirt. Someone in the crowd whistled and Tony took the time to stop and wave his index finger mock reprimandation, a very tight smile on his face.

“Some of you got lucky enough to enjoy this vista before and might wish for a repeat performance, but I don't do public stripteases anymore.” He pulled the collar to the side to offer a glimpse at still angry red scars, ropy and ugly against his skin; carefully keeping the fabric aside but just shy of exposing the arc reactor. The shirt was not tightly weaved enough, he had taped the machine this morning to dampen the glow.

“Stark!” Christine waved at him. “You say those pictures were authentic?”

"Yes." Tony inclined his head and closed the shirt again, but left the tie hanging. “Whatever I could add, someone will accuse me of lying, forging, blackmailing. Find out the truth yourselves. With facts and evidence surrounding the incident instead of relying on rumors for a change, hm? You are professional investigative reporters, go forth and i _ nvestigate _ .”

And with that parting dare, he stepped off the dais, Ambassador Compton and Pep awaited him. He politely offered the Briton his arm and led the way deeper into the foyer.

"Thank you for supporting me in person." Tony could be gracious if the situation warranted it. Barbara Compton had earned his respect. He hadn't known her in person before the Civil War. She had been only a face in the crowd of politicians that tried to wrangle the best piece of the cake for themselves, against him and each other. Then he had woken up with the arc back in his chest, dazed and in agonizing pain, and Compton had been sitting at his bedside with a file in her lap and ugly reading glasses on her nose. The formidable woman had calmly scrutinized him, helped Tony by offering him ice cubes. And then read him the riot act for not taking his own health and security serious enough. Why hadn't he called her for help? It had been epic.

“Well done. You haven’t given any classified information away while skillfully distracting them from Jormungand. Encouraging them with that snapshot might not have been one of your better ideas though, Dr. Stark.”

“I wanted to demystify Jor a little bit. Now a good picture is not worth a real fortune anymore, it's been downgraded to nice reward. It was only a question of time until someone sold one of the pictures that are in our official UN files. Too many people were involved in the Norway mission."

The ambassador glared at him.

Tony stared back at her and dared her to disagree with him. “Rogers has a lot fans, even among the UN staff, who still think he can do no wrong. They would consider damaging my reputation a worthy endeavor that helps their hero, you know it. Iron Man getting too popular is threatening their hero's standing.

"And the financial gain of selling some information isn’t anything to sneeze at either. How high was the offer for the first picture that showed Jor’s face clearly, middle to good quality Pep?"

“This morning the price was topping at 350.000 Dollars,” Pepper coolly replied.

Compton shook her head, her lips a displeased, thin line. “We have to declaw them.”

“I recommend an interview in a private setting. Appear to be open but reasonably concerned with a vulnerable minor’s privacy and security. Garner sympathy for the way he was mistreated,” SI’s CEO offered her expert advice.

The elevator doors closed behind the trio before Pepper spoke further.

“And it would build a good foundation for when we’re introducing Loki as well. Adopted kid and his offspring being horribly mistreated by the family? That will get us some leeway and sympathy.” Pep went on.

Tony shook his head. “It can’t be too in your face. We don’t want to openly accuse the All-Daddy of being a monster, no matter how true. I don’t want to know what he would do if he felt that we besmirched his honor.” Thor was said to have slaughtered thousands of elves on less provocation and he admired his father.

“You both have a point.” Compton grimly stated. “I want to add that all the information we now have about his attitude towards Jormungand is hearsay. But-” She raised her hand imperiously to cut off the protest Tony was ready to make. “Let me continue. Nobody will be able to dispute that Prince Jormungand is the victim of a conspiracy, probably a court plot, against the house of Odin and that, due to the long lifespan of the Æsir and the probability that the original villain is still alive, he is still in mortal danger on Asgard and safer here on Earth. Wasn’t there a racial conflict involved as well?”

Tony nodded and chewed on it for a second. “It would result in a similar positive spin, and no alien king out for our heads. And considering how much the public loves royal conspiracies and drama, they will eat it up. Christine Everhart?” he threw the name into the arena.

They arrived at Tony’s penthouse and Compton, cool as a cucumber, entered er gray eyes scanned and cataloged everything in her sight. “She’s known to be critical of you, but she’s got sense. Most of the time.”

Pepper went left and opened the door to the room that had been designed to be an office but was rarely used. “Can I offer you some refreshment, Your Excellency?”

“I had to cancel some of my morning appointments and have some time until midday. A big cup of coffee wouldn’t go amiss.”

“Not tea instead?” Tony teased. There should be some tins of the leafy stuff Bruce had favored. Somewhere.

“Don’t believe all the tales you hear about us Briton’s. I like my tea as well as any of my countrymen but there’s nothing like a good, strong cup of black coffee to fuel a war council.”

“A woman after my own heart!” He turned around and hurried to the back of the bar where his carefully remodeled and spiffed up coffee machine was waiting. “Pep, you hate my coffee maker, let me prepare her Excellency a Stark worthy cup!”

Tony could hear the Ambassador asking Pepper if he was going to poison her. That lack of faith would crush a lesser man, really.

 

TBC

 


	10. The power of green (and books)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! My new laptop is a little faulty and ATM at the mercy of the computer doctor but I'm in Vienna for the day! A city that has McDonalds (free wlan) and yeah, later in the day I'll visit a internet café. Thank you for all the nice reviews.

 

Tony delivered the coffee, took one look at the two women, and slowly backed out of the room again. Pepper and the Ambassador had their heads bent over something the redhead was busy explaining on her Starkpad. The expressions on their faces, both Pep’s and on the usually ultra composed Barbara - yes, it was a better idea to come back later.

It was not cowardly running away but a sound strategic retreat.

Anyways, he had to fulfill his promise to Jor and reassure the kid that he hadn't abandoned him.

The view that greeted him in the child's room was eerily similar to the one Tony had just left: two heads bent over a computer screen. Without the blood lust making the air around them sizzle.

"I'm back! Safe and sound!" Tony cheerfully shouted and ambled over to the desk. He ruffled Jor's wild hair, then tried the same, accompanied by a wink, with Rhodey's ultra short stubble as well . He was greeted by two big smiles. "What have you two been up to?"

For a reason that escaped Tony his question made Jor squirm.

"Hey kiddo, don't make such a long face. It's impossible that you have bankrupted me in such a short time."

Rhodey threw back his head and laughed. "Only you. Tony, encouraging your kid to spend more money is not what is considered a good parenting choice. But I think he is more concerned if you approve of his selection."

"Can't be too bad, what caught your fancy?" Tony leaned his hip against the desktop and tried to get a glimpse of the screen.

"Plants." Rhodes tone of voice was dry as a desert.

"Well. OK?" Tony didn't know what to say. He was a mechanic. Green, growing things were not in his scope of functions or interest.

Rhodey's dark eyes glittered. "I was only looking away for two minutes answering some messages for him to find them. And he looked so hopeful. I couldn't get myself to cancel them."

The power of youthful puppy eyes in action.

"Gigantic flytraps, cow-plant, poison icy?" What did he know about the more exotic plants his suppliers might have on sale for their rich and eccentric clientele?

"No, a beautiful ceiling high sycamore, a tree fern and-" he consulted the list on the computer, "a nepenthes pitcher plant. Which  _ is _ carnivorous. But only dangerous to insects."

Maybe Jor was missing nature, he had spent a long time without any trees in sight and this was a harmless wish. Tony used a finger to lift the little face until their eyes could meet. "Then I don't understand the long face, kiddo. I told you to select things you will enjoy and you did. Why don't you find a few smaller friends so the big ones don't appear out of their element?"

"I was worried. You do not seem to like plants, there are none in your home."

The penthouse was a plant free zone because Tony had a black thumb. Now he would have to design a robot to care for the things if he didn't want plant corpses and an upset little kid. But it wasn't a big problem.

Jor jumped out of his seat, gave Tony a hug, and then nearly dived for the Starkpad, calling for Friday's help. Within a few seconds he was lost in the wonderful world of chlorophyll.

"Congratulations, he’s a  _ very _ intelligent kid." Rhodes smirked. "He has superb spatial awareness and reading comprehension skills that far surpasses kids thrice his age. I compared with examples on a parenting web-page. He was looking at different conservatory trees and could always tell which ones would fit and which would not by judging not only your living room, but the plants inside their depicted surroundings."

Memories of his own youth and the pitfalls it challenged him with made Tony moan.

"We are so far out at sea when it comes to parenting, Tones, we don't even see the shore anymore. We need qualified, dependable, and trusted help. A human. Not another AI!"

Jor was nearly glowing with happiness, the tip of his tongue peeking out between his lips while he was asking Fri to translate the descriptions of the plants he was admiring.

Tony watched him, caught between joy at the happy picture and dread.

Rhodey looked at Tony pleadingly. "May I please call mum in? She's going to be upset with us both if I don't."

Jor cooed at a gnarled mega bonsai.

Tony nodded, his eyes on the kid. "Ask her nicely.“

.-#-.

Tony had no idea why he was laughing aloud or, come to think of it, sitting in front of a coffee table with at least a dozen untouched cups on it. No wonder, the beverages inside the repositories didn't look like anything he would want to drink, more like something Dum-E would produce with his blender and no supervision. Not that visuals mattered here because he somehow knew that he wouldn't experience any nuanced flavors in a dream, only the notion that it should taste like something on his tongue instead of the liquid being just hot.

Dreams didn't work like real life, sometimes, unfortunately.

But, if he had to chose, he'd rather miss taste and smell as well as pain – because, well. He knew what it felt like to hit the ground after a long fall; he didn't want to re-experience it in his sleeping hours on repeat.

Just sayin'.

Logic wasn't a typical dream commodity either, nor was dissecting dream reality, though.

_ Ah. _

Tony shook himself to get rid of mental spiderwebs, drew the back of his hand across his mouth, wished the cups away and turned around to observe his surroundings.

The other ramshackle tables had been empty until now, which would be improbable in reality because not only was the quality of the coffee at the billionaire's favorite coffee-shop so fantastic that it was nearly a religious experience. Naturally everyone else around the block knew this as well and calculated in the unavoidable waiting time for getting a perfect cuppa from their favorite barista. There was no need for fancy furniture and feng-shui-ed décor in this slice of heaven. Tony suspected that the few seating accommodations were there so customers on their last leg to their next cup could have something to prop them up while they waited for their orders.

Now Lokis were occupying the tables and their focus was decidedly not on some cappuccinos.

Tony didn't know why Loki insisted on the clones. Always having to decide who to concentrate on and the deep seated need to keep all of them in his sight was annoying and disconcerting for the mortal dreamer. Which was probably why the trickster was being a little shit.

Having gained the genus' attention controversially seemed to be the impetus for Loki to begin roaming around the room and suddenly ignoring Tony.

Tony added to the height of his perch, dangled his legs and tilted his head in a thinking pose - thought oh, fuck it - and jumped into the conversation. “You know, I wondered. Our last meeting left me with a lot of questions. You're sitting on the ultimate spy chair, at least that's how I've interpreted the myths, but you were pissed at me about Jor.”

One Loki had been studying the collection of vintage car posters on the wall and looked back over his shoulder, a raised eyebrow the only input to the exchange.

“'It is providing the All-Father with insight and wisdom to help him guide the nine Realms into prosperity.'” Tony quoted. Not the Edda, that would have taken much too long and used up half a dictionary thus he unearthed some anthropologist's interpretation. “That's vague.”

“What did you expect, an instruction manual? Humans are too fond of their rules and regulations,” Loki drawled mockingly and then sneered at a section of the wall where, fittingly, a pictograph of what to do in case of fire was displayed.

Never let it be said that Tony didn't take every available opportunity to be a smart ass. He erased the little flames and stick-men and put up a crude throne in puke yellow, placed a bearded stick-figure with an eye-patch onto it, all of it floating over a court of stick-vikings, recognizable due to their capes and fancy helmets.

Half of them promptly went up in flames and fled the scene through the green and white emergency exit light that hung right beside the security poster.

Tony was delighted, then suddenly wrinkled his nose. The fire hadn't been his doing. Why was Loki now able to alter Tony's dreamscape? Had he been wrong? He had thought that Loki only had dominion over his specters, the throne room and the throne itself.

“You invited me to play, you wanted to know what I would do. Your mind though is still yours alone.” Loki altered the stick-king into a stick-trickster.

Then this was another example of 'be careful what you think of', Tony silently concluded.

“You are only looking into my head, but not altering?” he directly asked.

Loki laughed. Laughed until he was shaking and snarling. “No, mind manipulation was a power of the stone in the accursed scepter I was forced to bring to Midgard with me. To give your simple mortal mind a picture it can understand, I'm only knocking at the door of your mind-palace and we are meeting at the threshold with your mind providing the scenery.“

My, my, someone had woken up (or went to sleep?) on the wrong side of the throne.

Tony surreptitiously conjured and began to play with one of the little rubber stress balls Pep had insisted should help him. Help him with what had never been clear, but they were a fun distraction. The neon green thing bounced nicely off the walls, especially if Tony added some extra dream oomph.

There. He had ignored the TV screen high up the wall until now and missed that the channel had been turned to Asgard instead of the news and was showing the real Loki. And it was a Loki who was looking a lot more stressed and haggard than the ones milling around the room.

“Mind-palace. How Sherlock of you. Remind me to introduce you to the series,” Tony teased. "I bet you would love it. On second thought, no, better not, it might give you ideas." And Tony refused to play the part of Dr. Watson. Not that anything was wrong with the good doctor, bad-ass sniper and cool guy that he was, but it would not fit Tony.

“The adventures of the famous detective aren't unknown to me.”

“And did you enjoy them? I think you did. So, I'm curious, how does my mind-palace look from the outside?” Because, even if Tony had never consciously tried to organize one for himself in the image introduced by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he had always wondered.

“Midgard has the superior leisure literature when compared to Asgard,” Loki ungracefully conceded. “There is less boring battles and senseless carnage to be found."

"We are very good at inventing entertaining ways to blow things up instead, in as many variations as possible."

Loki nodded and smiled. "And to call your intellectual organization map a palace would be misleading – look.”

One clone held out his hands and an image began to dance on his palm.

Tony eyed the wriggling thing. It was undefinable - certainly not a library - a constantly moving, shifting mass of cables, clear tubes, crackling energy and motherboards that seemed to exist on several dimensions at once. He thought it was beautiful, which he considered healthy because it represented something the genius held in high regard about himself, but to see it in the open? Not a comfortable feeling.

“Congrats on finding a door.”

Loki smirked and closed his hands around the image and made it disappear. It looked like his fingers were caressing the cables.

Tony shuddered, not really wanting to examine why. He was sorely tempted, but he didn't ask to see Loki’s mind-palace in return.

“Now that we've discussed each other's intellect-” Loki sent him a smirk, then raised his chin grandly. “The last time we met you proposed a partnership of convenience, which would benefit from equal information exchange and after duly considering the deal I am amiable.”

What a convoluted way to express that Loki saw the advantages of working with Tony and not against him – and that he was still pissed at the engineer because of the dependence he thought he had been forced into. Tony shook his head.

“Then let's clear some things up because they really irk me. And I want to be able to ask the right questions. “ Tony threw another look at the TV. He wanted to know about limitations. “You aren't able to observe Jor, aren’t you?”

Loki's jaw clenched. “No, I'm not. I get a vague impression of where he is and his overall health. And I cannot slip into his dreams either. Immature personalities don't have enough sense of self to anchor another conscience.”

Nothing more? OK, that sucked for the concerned father. “And the no clear view problem has something to do with Hlidskialf.”

“Hlidskialf is loyal to the rightful ruler of Asgard. The throne has much in common with Mjolnir, to give you an example you might be more familiar with. It isn't quite sentient, but it has allegiance. It wouldn't work for me at all if at one point in time, and as much as others don't want to admit it, I was indeed the rightfully appointed king regent. As long as I'm not acting against the Realm Eternal I'm allowed to use its power even now. Like preparing for an imminent invasion among other things by talking to you. I would not be able to breach the distance between Realms and minds without it.”

Tony inclined his head. “It's a logical safeguard. You wouldn't want anybody to plop their ass down and fuck things up. Yes, but if I remember correctly, and I always do, Mjolnir draws its definition of worth from somewhere, which when you listen to Thor-”

Loki growled.

“Yes, I know, not the most enjoyable pastime, but needs must come before wishes. Again, if you listen to big, muscular and blond worthy always means one thing: Odin.” And Odin had no interest in helping Loki reunite with his children.

“Asgard lives in symbiosis with the Odinforce, primal seidr that connects it with the world tree Yggdrasil and makes our Realm able to exist in the form it has now. It was once called the Asgard-force.”

"Odin renamed it after himself? And people complain about my ego."

"You build very tall towers with your name on it, that's not discouraging those opinions."

"It's a gorgeous tower!" Tony pouted.

Asgard was according to the myths not a planet but a piece of dirt with a palace on top floating in space. That would take a lot of power to keep stable, all right. “Not that I'm complaining and I've been asking for it, but aren't you giving away state secrets?” Tony smiled.

Loki smiled back, bright and smug. “I'm sharing with a worthy ally.”

Tony threw the stress ball at Loki's head and the trickster caught it, scrutinized it and then threw it back.

“The Odinforce is a magical ouroboros."

Tony tilted his head. "Feedback loop."

"Smart ant. Quite. The more the people believe in their king, the more he can draw and use the force to act in their name. If the king commits a serious enough offense against Asgard’s interests he will weaken the faith of his people and his subsequent proclamations will not have the full backing of the Odinforce until he has regained their trust.”

Tony stilled his fiddling and snapped his fingers. Odin's public standing and that of his chosen heir had to come first for such a system to work in favor of the royal family. "Which is why Odin is so gung ho about keeping his rep nice and clean and will push any culpability for negative events onto someone else.”

Like Loki. The Lie-smith.

From the hard lines on the trickster’s face Tony figured that motivation covered a lot of reasons for past unfairness. It was also something that wasn't easily apparent within the network itself, with the feedback loop in play.

“So, if Odin wasn't wherever you have stashed him and decided that I would be the ideal lowly delivery boy for pastries and boosted the declaration via his awesome seat of command, I’d suddenly feel the need to send donuts up to Asgard?” Control questions were important.

Loki blinked slowly. “No. You aren’t a citizen of Asgard and your personal energy isn’t tied to the Odinforce.”

“And I think Odin is a heartless asshole.”

“That would help you resist if you were an Àss. ” Loki quirked his lips but it was very far from joyful.

“What?”

“To give you another example, you seem to learn best that way. I told you how I raged when I tried to find or avenge my children.”

Tony nodded, his stomach clenching in anticipation.

“I was so... angry. Odin accused me of inventing things in my grief and distorting what really happened, of losing my mind. In my fury and to find proof that no, I wasn't lying simply to cause trouble I didn't act as cautiously as would have been advisable and maimed a favored warrior that I suspected was complicit in the kidnapping, cut off his sword hand, in fact.”

“Tyr?”

A vindictive smile, cold and full of teeth bloomed on the trickster's face. “Indeed. Odin had enough of my  _ childish tantrum _ , he called upon the power of Hlidskialf and placed a taboo on everything surrounding Jormungand and Fenrir. From then on nobody was able to speak about it for longer than a few seconds in a way that would show Odin in a negative light – or even think about them.”

That was cruel – to rob Loki of everything down to a clear memory of his kids. Tony closed his eyes. “I grieve with thee.”

There was no response but Tony could hear something that sounded suspiciously like a faint sob.

Tony wanted to sooth the hurt, but suspected that he would get bitten if he tried too openly. Loki would count it as a weakness. But maybe he could offer something else. He kept his eyes averted from the trickster and turned around until he faced the wall that was across the TV screen and made another one, a very modern flat-screen with a nice home cinema size appear on the wall. The he turned the channel to StarkLifetimeTV and projected one of his memories, turned up the sound.

"Hares are food. The leather is very fine and ideal for bags, father has one for storing the dried herbs, and the fur is to warm us when it is cold outside. What should I do with this fake one?"

A loud gasp echoed through the coffee shop.

The inventor had selected a memory of the flight back home. Someone, going by the sad puppy face it was Fredrikson, had included a cuddle toy for the mini Æsir among the items that had been prepared for the child. A thoughtful and sweet gesture, but it had missed its purpose. The little rabbit was very cute and lifelike and Jor wasn't trying to be dismissive, he had been honestly bewildered.

The redheaded agent looked crestfallen. "I thought it was best not to confuse him with an abstract concept and wild colors. And I had a rabbit like that when I was young."

Jor didn't understand what the problem was, he gazed from one adult to the other in question.

"It's a Midgardian custom to gift a toy to a child when meeting them for the first time, something soft to play with that would not injure them," Tony tried to explain and kept his face immobile while he watched with amusement how his barnacle began to examine the toy, first by circling it, then by picking it up like Tony would a ticking bomb.

"A show of good intentions?" Jor asked and tugged at the long ears.

Memory-Tony rubbed both his hands over his poor mistreated hair, making it stand up even more. "I never thought about it like that but yes, that fits."

The memory played on, showing how the female UN doctor assessed the kid's health and his stubborn refusal to submit to things he thought weren't proper. Nothing of great importance happened but a side glance to the clones and the other TV showed a riveted father that had no attention for anything else.

Tony averted his eyes again. He longed to poke Loki's brain about the Chitauri's biology and battle tactics, about troop size and organization. The opportunity to get answers was why he had schemed and planned, but this was the wrong point in time to talk shop. Instead, Tony fed more harmless, but joyful memories to the TV and busied himself with conjuring up blueprints of some of his current projects and fiddling with them.

Wasn't it a good thing that Tony Stark was a master at multitasking?

But he was also an easily frustrated genius and knowing that he lacked the tools and technology to actually make changes to his schematics got annoying very fast. Tony's mind wandered.

There were no people beside him and the trickster in this dream world to converse with, not even a barista behind the counter to tease and flirt with. Maybe-

“I wouldn't do that.” Eyes still fixated on the TV the Loki who was nearest to Tony was grumbling at the inventor.

“Why?” Tony inspected the flickering image of his barista.

“If this is a living human you are thinking about and they are asleep currently they might get drawn into the dream.”

That was a pretty straight forward answer considering the source, but Loki didn't seem to want to divest any attention away from the TV.

Tony thought it through, his hands and brain incidentally contorting a spoon he was juggling with into different shapes. Throw it upwards and it would come to his hands again as a screwdriver, then a wretch, a robotic relay, always morphing in midair. “Oh, I'm the base and the control system, you are the battery and secondary hard-drive. It's similar to the Hlidskialf limitations!”

“Congratulations. Near perfect pronunciation and insight as a bonus. Unfortunately I can't offer you a cookie.”

“They don't sell them here. And even if they did, thanks to the issue that I can't get a vendor to show up, plus the cookies would offer not satisfaction, tasting of nothing.”

"Then why did you try to summon someone behind the counter."

"To see if I could," said the scientist.

That got him a full out smile, bright and mischievous.

On the screen Jor was admiring the two new additions to the living room, gigantic potted plants that had been speed delivered. The barnacle was patting them like pets.

"It was pain and joy both to travel the realms and hear stories about the Midgard Serpent and Fenrissulf, the Great Wolf." Only one Loki clone was left, the others had disappeared.

"Hm, with Odin's attitude I would have expected that those stories wouldn't be permitted to thrive," Tony mused and then smiled when on screen Jor demanded that one mini-tree should be placed more to the left because it should get the best light. The recording wasn't as clear as a true video would have been, parts of the scene were blurry, parts were in hyper focus.

"He always loved the small household tasks pertaining to herbs and vegetables." Loki stretched one of his arms, as if to touch the screen, caught and composed himself. Then he turned to Tony. "I didn't invent the stories, but it was I who made sure that they would not be forgotten."

Tony pressed his lips together. "In hopes that someone would do what I've done and be curious enough to find your kids." His stomach lurched and his mouth felt dry and uncomfortable. Poor Fenrir.

Poor Loki.

The trickster glared as if he had regained the stone's power and could read minds again. "Let us focus on the future. You implied that I should consider allying myself to Midgard. I cannot see how I would be welcome!"

"Don't measure humans with the same stick you use for Æsir. Not when it comes to how our... hivemind works. We are not living under a governmental imperius. Eh, sorry, Mind whammy due to a magical throne." Tony sighed. Really, talking to aliens was hard work.

"No, I think you call it your media instead. And they will be so pleased to see the god who destroyed one of their cities and killed its citizens walking among them."

Tony couldn't help a delighted grin escaping. Seems as if Loki had spent his sojourn on Earth as a wannabe failure-conqueror not only on directing his minions, but studying the ants.

"It's a big handicap, but in the right hands it can be spun in a way that lessens the outrage. Some people will never forgive you, they lost too much. Loved ones, their livelihood or health. You might consider reparations."

Loki whirled fully around - dramatically.

How else?

"I would do it again."

Tony kept his cool. That would be one thing Loki should never say publicly. "As a last resort?"

"Of course! I'm the god of mischief, not destruction or death!"

"Then we don't have a problem. Remind me to show you files about Sokovia, Lagos, and Johannesburg. Unfortunately, we have managed to do a lot of damage on our own. Now, one major difference between Asgard and Earth is that we are a diverse people with diverse tastes. We don't only admire and cheer for the paragon hero."

Steve Rogers' perfect mug and brilliant blue eyes did a heroic pose in Tony's mind and he smashed him down á la Hulk. "In fact, do a survey of favorite Star Wars characters. The original trilogy, we are going to ignore the prequel movies. A lot of people prefer Han, the scoundrel with a heart of gold to Luke, the troubled but virtuous hero. And Darth Vader? Has a huge fan club. Nothing is better than a redeemed hero. OK, some of the allure is a result of watching someone who rained down hell on you in the past go nuclear on your own enemies."

"You are babbling."

"As long as I'm babbling convincingly?"

Loki casually strode over, his steps rhythmic and displaying those unholy long legs to a truly unfair degree. The mage snatched a chair, turned it around and then straddled it and practically hugged the backrest.

Tony didn't know what he should keep his attention on, the light dancing in Loki's eyes or the wicked curve of his mouth that promised a lot of things, among them pain, but then Loki leaned forward.

Naturally Tony loved to match him and did so as well, what fun would their game be otherwise?

“Dear mortal, I'm not against heavy breathing,“ Loki purred and moved his fingers in the classic come nearer gesture. “And I like black.“ He brushed his fingertips along the lines of his leather coat.

Tony could feel his lips stretch in a wild sort of grin, put one elbow on the tabletop and rested his chin in the hand. Then wriggled his eyebrows suggestively, inviting the trickster to go further.

Loki bent forward until they were nearly nose to nose. “Metallic masks on the other hand and bowing to mad emperors? Not my style.” And he faded from view, the last thing to disappear after hovering in the air for a good bit was the bright grin.

“That's mixing your movies, Snowflake!” Tony laughed.

“Cheshire was a character in a book first, you philistine,” floated back the answer.

Tony adjusted himself in his pants.

Maybe a huge private library would be a good incentive for Loki to make a home on Earth?

He laughed.

TBC

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Tony's words about redeemed villains is heavily paraphrased and isn't 100% my brainchild. Georg Lucas said something like that first in an interview.


	11. Playing with fire (and the public, oh my)

 

Tony had known that he would be out of his depth with this adventure, which was why he had begged Pep to come along. She only agreed to deliver them to the entrance of the New York Botanical Gardens and then leave adult and child to their bonding over nature.

Plants and mad mechanics simply didn’t go together and he would leave the biochemistry gladly to other geniuses. The only interest he had ever payed to the green leafy things was to acknowledge that they were worth protecting. Everybody wanted to breathe and some of those plants, a select few number, even tasted great.

His super competent friend had been the one to call ahead and arrange for a guided private tour outside the mainstream opening hours without disclosing who exactly would be visiting. Pepper had selected one of Tony’s less flashy cars after she had seen her former boss eyeing his Maserati.

The young man who greeted the little group halted two sentences into his polite and obviously rehearsed welcome speech and began to stutter. He had introduced himself as Dr. Gilbert Mason and with his slightly ill fitting suit and the - albeit fashionable - glasses on his nose, he looked like the archetype of a starving student - or alternatively like half of the scientist in Tony’s own R&D labs.

Tony gave him points for observations skills, but deducted them again for the open mouthed gaping. From a distance they might be mistaken for another rich couple and child that wanted to visit, but didn’t like to mingle with the unwashed masses, but of course that fell apart face to face.

The young man’s blue eyes jumped from Tony’s dark and rather plain sunglasses and his sharply styled goatee to Jor’s imploring yellow eyes to Pep’s red hair.

Pepper stepped forward, her best smile on her beautiful face. “Good morning! May we please step inside?”

Without giving the guy a chance to do more than jump out of the way the little group passed him through the open door into the building. The back entrance was built for function, not for impressing visitors. It consisted mainly of a small guard station and a long broad aisle and lots of boring industrial style doors.

Their taking charge didn’t help the stuttering. “Should I,… shouldn’t I call for Dr. Berchtenstein?” Mason squirmed and fiddled with his lanyard and access card.

Tony raised his eyebrow. “Berchtenstein is the director, if I remember correctly. Aren’t you a botanist yourself? We asked for one to guide us.”

“Yes, well; but I’m only an assistant researcher. We didn’t know that you would be visiting personally, we thought we would be visited by a functionary or a department chief of Stark Industries, not...”

“Technically- Tony Stark isn’t here, you are interacting with a life sized decoy. I’m mainly the chaperon for the short stuff. Hey, Pep, I’m not the shortest in every group anymore!"

Pepper glared at him.

Tony grinned back unrepentant “Anyways. We don’t want to overwhelm Jor, there’s no need for pomp and ceremony and I really would appreciate it if you could keep this secret while we are here. Do you know your plants? Then get a move on.”

“OK, boys, I’ll leave you to it. Have fun, Jor,” said Pep and turned around, then halted and sent her most intimidating glare of doom at Tony. “On second thought. Tony? Don't have too much fun. Don’t try to invent plant bombs on the fly. Don’t try to figure out how to make a mechanical giant Venus fly trap by studying the real deal. Don’t blow up anything, you hear me?”

Tony pointed at himself. These accusations and suspicions were completely uncalled for. “Alas, my love, you do me wrong!”

Her laugh followed her out of the building.

Jor tugged at Tony’s hand and he looked down. In contrast to the rather unenthusiastic reaction when gifted with the cuddly rabbit Jor loved his IronTeddy and never went anywhere without the toy. Which Tony fully understood. IronTeddy was awesome and much better than a lame hare. Jor had carefully placed his toy in the colorful backpack Happy had given him, with the zip half open so the head could peek out, and teddy was now keeping watch from his perch on Jor’s shoulders.

The kid had been sea-sawing between eager anticipation for their adventure and shaky reluctance to leave his safe haven. He had returned to mainly nonverbal and clingy during the car ride. Tony could feel the small hand in his spasm. The adult was ready to turn around and declare their outing over. Only the awed, coveting glances Jor was throwing at the pictures gracing the the printed out folder - advertising the many wonders of the Botanical Gardens – made the adult hold onto his resolution to give this a chance.

Cho and Compton had encouraged exposing Jor to the outside world. This was as safe as it could get short of buying the damn overgrown glasshouse. And the excursion was something his chlorophyll obsessed kid would enjoy immensely.

“Yes, you have been promised lots of plants, do not worry, this guy will deliver.”

If he managed to collect some scientific dignity. Maybe it was the glaring genius or the shyly pleading stare of the kid, but Mason took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. “Well… OK. What do you want to see first?”

They had the whole day if they wanted, the Garden's were closed on Mondays. Tony was about to switch automatically back from Old Norse to English. Which reminded him-

“Here, take this,” he said to Mason, unearthed an earbud from his jeans pocket and placed it on a nearby metal table full of files and cardboard boxes. The younger man hurried to pick it up.

“Jor hasn’t caught up to modern English yet. My nifty program will tell you what he is saying. Easier than me playing interpreter.”

“The news was correct, he’s been imprisoned for a long time?” Mason stared at the fire-red earbud and shoved his glasses back up his nose when they slid down. “That’s fucked up.”

Tony growled. “Tell me about it. Jor’s just a kid. The particulars are classified, you’ll understand that I can’t give you a lot of information. But since you’ll interact with the kid here are some basics - some stupid ancient evil sorcerer who got pissed off and took it out on the son instead of being man enough to attack the dad, a long, long time ago. You’ve read some of those old gruesome fairy tales? One of them might have been inspired by this kid’s fate.”

The botanist kept staring at the small device but didn’t put it in his ear. “OK. OK. I can do this. Any topic outside the obvious that I should avoid? He looks… “ The man trailed of and then hesitantly smiled at the boy.

Jor shyly smiled back and stepped closer to Tony. The barnacle wasn’t looking like a starved urchin any longer. The brand new hoodie - green!- and jeans made him appear like any other skinny kid enjoying a visit to the Botanical Gardens. But only if the observer didn’t look too closely at the too world weary expression in his eyes and the shadows underneath them.

“Jor is wearing a bud too, communication wouldn’t work too well otherwise, eh? Avoid any mention of his his family or wild animals and you’ll be fine. His little slug has some extra features though. I’ve got someone who’ll filter out distressing stuff, but I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. Hm.” Tony chased a niggling thought. He pulled Jor softly by the hair and made him giggle a little bit.

“Avoiding dark rooms would be good. Are there even plants that love darkness? I don’t think so? Plants need sunlight.”

“Not all of them do. There are some deep sea-”

"Yeah, no. X-nay on any water stuff as well." Tony searches his memory and then rattled down at list of the plants that had been delivered, most of them by helicopter due to their size.

Jor was nodding along, recognizing the names.

"That's a diverse collection, but slants towards the unusual. I think the main sub tropical conservatory might be best and if he's up to it I'll show you the nursery as a bonus. But first, can you wait a minute; I've seen a cardboard box over there and if we are lucky..." Mason darted into a room without waiting for an answer and the two visitors could hear him frantically rummage through something and then even swear when something heavy hit the floor.

Tony shook his head. If this went like other events he would either be presented with a poster or picture to sign or a folder with some proposal. Nobody had known that he would be here but it had happened before at truly random locations.

Mason surprised him because he was holding neither, instead he was flushed with success and mortification both and held out two gray baseball caps, adorned with the logo of the Botanical Gardens. After unsure look at Tony he hesitantly placed them on the rolling cart. "I thought this would be a nice souvenir and protect your identity both. Marco-" he gestured towards the guard. "won't say a peep and if you want them? I mean, the shop is on the other end of the areal, at the main entrance, and it would have more variety to chose from, but we got a delivery of these today and didn't have time to cart them over to the storehouse."

Tony smiled and took one of the caps and formed the shield with his hands. They were good quality with the logo stitched on instead of printed. "That's very thoughtful of you. Calm down, I don't bite. How much are they?"

"Uhm. I don't know, but you can wire the correct amount into our account, I've never worked in the shop. I'll find out the price when I've got a minute in between."

Placing the cap on Jor's head took a few minutes, they had to fiddle until all the hair was correctly where it belonged and not in the way.

"Thank you!" the kid offered their guide in nearly perfect English.

"You're welcome!" beamed Mason.

Tony prepared himself to suffer one or two hours of boredom and trotted after the two plant maniacs. It had become obvious within ten minutes that the mini-menace and the young scientist got on like a house on fire. Naturally, Jor was much too young to be on Mason's level of knowledge, far from it, but his enthusiasm was sweet and their guide had a knack for explaining coherences in a simple, but entertaining way. Observing them interact alleviated some of Tony's restlessness.

He busied himself with analyzing the cast iron construction. It was hopelessly out of date, but basically well constructed. The way the beams connected and the air duct system was integrated into the roof structure had promise.

The Botanical Gardens were hosting an art exhibition. Chihuly. The name was ringing a bell and the sculptures looked interesting. Beautiful and painful, with all those spikes. If some of his business partners gave him one as a present, he would suspect them of encouraging an accident. Slipping in the dark with one of those in the hallway? Bad idea.

"Tony, look!" Jor demanded his attention, pointing at something green-orange and spiky that was mirrored by an art piece nearby. No doubt he would be told all about the plant. Lucky him.

 

.-#-.

 

The moon was up, bright and cool. Tony saluted Earth's satellite and prepared for a comfy late evening snack and some time on the net. His coffee was already gently steaming on the side table and the snacks he had found waiting in the fridge wouldn't last the hour. A few steps and he was in range to let himself fall onto the couch.

Friday knew what he wanted and brought up the relevant web-pages on her own around him.

The New York Botanical Gardens had added a report, tastefully done and officially geared toward advertising how much fun kids could have with nature and science. The pictures they had used were taken from the security tapes, mainly showing Jor pointing at humongous cacti. A few where Mason helped the boy transfer a baby bromeliad onto their own wood sticks - and then a small series that featured Tony with his emergency repair tools, some scrap wire and two clamps cobbling together a carrier so the plant wouldn't topple over on the way home. All under the awed scrutiny of the proud new bromeliad owner. Because Mason hadn't been immune to Jor's pleading eyes either and had gifted him one of the strange things.

He had been asked if the NYBG could use his design, which he had granted. It wasn't rocket science.

Of course someone, most likely one of the gardeners that were busy on Mondays with maintenance, had guessed who was strolling around the gardens and had tattled. Thankfully, it had been towards the end of their tour and Jor's energy had flagged and he had been fueled by adrenaline.

Tony had forgotten the name of the officious person who had fluttered all around them.

Fluttered. Tony grinned.

Jor, again plastered to Tony's side had asked cautiously if the man was part fowl. Only Mason and Tony had understood him, with the biologist nearly choking on his laughter.

The article didn't allow any comments. 

Another screen showed the young scientist's personal blog and the comment section was open - and very lively.

Tony could watched from afar while a lot of people interrogated poor Dr. Mason about his day. The young man had politely asked after the tour if he was allowed to talk about meeting the billionaire and his magical kid; Tony had shrugged and cautioned him that the public could be crazy and would hound Mason. The need to share had obviously won over caution.

There was a separate group discussion going about why it was impossible for a famous kid to join The Young Explorers.

_ "That boy would love it and he needs contact with kids his own age." _

_ "Imagine there's an attack! No security can be that good and all the little kids could get hurt." _

_ "Yeah, price to pay for an ultra rich daddy. Kidnappers would be delighted." _

_ "And it's Iron Man's kid!" _

_ "Come on people, it's all a publicity stunt! _

_ "Shut up, not everything's a conspiracy!" _

_ "Jori is so cute!" _

Overall, the interest was friendly, there were only a few posters who were fuming about morally bankrupt people like 'that capitalist pig Stark' raising a child. The real test would be the next few days and the scrutiny of the big papers and talk shows.

"Boss? Thor Odinson has landed on the balcony."

It was kind of sad that Tony had exchanged more meaningful words with Dr. Foster's assistant, even outside his Asgard research binges, than with his superhero team mate. But he and the Thunderer had never been particularly close before the Convergence incident.

Afterwards their interactions had mainly been a case of listening to Thor and his stories. And that had consisted of Thor destroying a lot the alcohol (that hadn't been thrown out initially after Tony had decided to abstain), falling into a melodic chant-speak, often slipping into his mother tongue. It took a lot of the good stuff to get that god even halfway drunk.

It was a good thing that Tony was rich or those binges would have left him a pauper. Instead, he considered it money well spent. It got him information and help with learning the language.

But Thor had never before waited politely on the balcony for permission to enter.

"Defense systems online, Friday. Deploy my suit and have a second one on standby - hell, stash it in an empty room upstairs permanently. If this goes pear shaped snatch the kiddo and call Pepper."

Rhodey was out, helping his mom prepare for the move into the tower.

Tony opened the door, stuck his hands casually in his trouser pockets and strolled out to greet his guest.

"Pikachu! You should have called ahead, I fear I'm not stocked on fruit loops!"

Thor wasn't his sunny, boisterous self, today his facial expression suited the black cloak of mourning he now habitually wore instead of his traditional bright red cape.

Tony tried to read the thunder god's stance. He didn't look aggressive, that was a plus.

"Friend Anthony!"

And he wasn't booming. They were outside, which meant to Thor that he didn't have to hold back with volume. The big blond was eyeing the windows and the rooms beyond.

"What brings you to my not humble abode? I mean, it's a beautiful evening for flying but-"

"You might know that the Lady Darcy is an avid observer of the bards of your world? She delights in following others on the book of faces and other sources of information."

What a complicated way to say that Lewis was nosy and a gossip.

"Yep."

Thor put down his hammer and came a few steps nearer to Tony's position. "The reason for my visit is twofold. I heard that you have taken a young boy under your protection. This is a honorable and pleasing deed and speaks of the exceptional quality of your character."

Tony felt cold sweat break out. He really hoped that he would not be asked to lift Mjolnir.  _ Really. _

"Lady Darcy showed me pictures. They weren't of good quality, the artists are not talented at all, but he looks like a strapping lad. A little thin maybe, but this would be logical after being imprisoned."

Thor must have missed today's reports. The pictures weren't staged and the ones Tony had permitted to be shared never showed all of Jor's face but they were far clearer than anything else that had found its way on the net.

"I wanted to congratulate you."

"Thank you, you are actually the first to do so. But that isn't all of it, is it?"

Thor nodded. "You are perceptive. The tale of how you found him, they resonated inside. I am unsure."

"You look it."

Tony could see a small lightning bolts dancing in Thor's blue eyes.

"The length of time your...Jori has been so cruelly imprisoned, has it been verifyed? I have to ask- I know of magics that can fake appearances. How sure are you of his age?"

"Very. The Sorcerer Supreme has confirmed that he is mentally and physically the equivalent of a five year old human." And the good doctor should know what he was talking about, he had been in the medical field and hello, grand master of hocus pocus.

Thor nodded slowly and then didn't say anything else for a few minutes. His forehead wrinkled deep in thought.

Tony had his own internal tug of war between hopes and qualms. Would Loki sitting on the throne of Asgard lift the taboo placed on Loki's kids? Strange's distraction spell should be working fine, but Thor was nothing if not stubborn.

"My dear Jane has engaged me in many deep conversations for the last few weeks and voicing my memories to someone who has never listened to my tales has removed some of the patina. Normally, her interest does not lie with history, my Lady Jane is fascinated by the stars instead, but she has been witness to many a story I told her companion Darcy." Thor tugged at the black material of his cloak and unhappily shifted on his feet.

"Some of the questions she asked me where deeply uncomfortable."

Good for Foster, getting the big lug to use his brain more, but her bad timing sucked. Tony pointedly didn't comment on what might have been unearthed. The possibilities were numerous. Plus, Tony was the last one to judge fucked up family dynamics. And Jane had had a first row seat to Odin's parenting style and general assholery.

"Then yesternight I was called away to Asgard. I worry for my father, he seems to be weary and tired. But diplomacy is not one of my stronger virtues. Loki-" he swallowed and were those tears in his eyes? "Loki was always the one who could sway people with his words alone and he would be the one who could help father with his preparations for war. I will command the Einherjar when the time comes for battle, but for now..."

"Why are you telling me this, Thor?" Tony asked.

"Father has extensively questioned me about my shield brothers on Midgard, especially about you. The tales of the weapon you delivered to the heart of the Chitauri swarm is popular among the warriors of the Nine Realms. My father wisely commented that you value the sanctity of your thoughts more than anything else and has granted you a boon for your services for the Nine Realms." He held out one of his big scarred hands and offered a glowing golden gem the size of a walnut.

"If you embed this into a piece of jewelry and wear it on your person no sorcerer, no matter how strong, will be able to corrupt your mind."

Tony took the gem and lifted it in front of his eyes, carefully avoiding any direct path over his chest. The sweat on his hands nearly made him lose his grip at one point, but he tightened his hold.

"And he told you to play messenger boy?" That was something Tony doubted severely. Thor possibly meeting Jormungand? Yeah, no. He would ask Loki before letting this thing anywhere near Jor. The last nights had been trickster free, hopefully this one wouldn't be.

"No. He tasked the Lady Sif with bringing the gift to you, but I intercepted her and pleaded with my friend until she let me go in her stead."

So much for obeying the king. Asgard security and obedience was for shit. No wonder their monarchs had invented a version of Viking Imperius.

Thor was again concentrating on the penthouse. It wouldn't do him any good because Tony knew that x-ray vision wasn't one of his talents.

"I thought it much better for everyone if I went in her stead."

The tone of voice made Tony narrow his eyes on Thor.

"You showed a picture of your ward to the news people. May I look upon the face of Jori as well?"

What should he do? Tony was caught between a rock and a hard place. If he didn't show Thunderpants the picture he would confirm the other man's suspicions just as much as taking the chance that Jor looked very much like his father at a similar age.

He had hesitated too long. Thor was stepping near, a resolute frown on his face. The Thunderer touched his fist to his heart and bent his head.

"I will not ask more, someday you will trust me with his image. Anthony Howardson, hear my pledge. If anyone dares to threaten your chosen son, anyone at all, know that the God of Thunder will defend him and fight by your side." With those words he turned to fetch his hammer.

"Thor." Tony called out. "Not every problem is shaped like a nail."

Thor nodded. "You sound like my brother." Thor twirled Mjolnir and flew away.

TBC

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cross your fingers that my laptop is 'healthy' now. 
> 
> @Thor: I want to like the big lug so I kind of created an excuse with the mind-whammy via throne and the firm personal belief that he is a product of his upbringing and socialisation. Thor, for all his good and bad qualities, is a priviledged jock of the highest order. He never had cause to question his own motivations or those around him pre Thor I. He was coddled, indulged, the picture of the ideal viking warrior, the favored son and isolated. Consequences were what happened to other people and he never questioned that his going scott free wasn't because he didn't do wrong but that his father's subjects feared to call him on his faults and Odin... was an ass. I have seen such kids, why would they question their worldview without outside impedus? They feel great, valued and have fun, why would they alter anything? Now add a violent culture and the status of a crown prince and it's a disaster waiting to happen.  
> Expose such kids to school and interactions with people who ive a fuck about Daddy - and if the kid has a good heart and some brains they might develop self awareness (in a way Draco Malfoy is the magical version of Thor but without a loved sibling in the mix). I think that Thor in canon is a battlefield between his priviledge/love for Odin and his exposure to uncomfortable alternative views/ love for Loki.
> 
> @Throne-imperius because people asked: I want it to work like jedi mind trick: these are not the bots you are lookin for. people might think about Fenrir & Jori, but the magic makes them slide to other, more interesting to them topics when they remember Loki's kids. It does not allow the subject to develop any momentum or questioning. The sky is blue, Odin is great, Loki's kids..huh. existed somewhat - oh, what's for dinner? Boar again?


	12. Words (are mighty weapons)

If Tony wasn't so sure that his baby girl would never turn Sky-Net on him, this was the point in time where he should begin to feel frightened. She would not, she would never betray her big brother JARVIS' memory and Tony made damn sure with her coding.

The genius inventor stretched his hands high up over his head and rolled his muscles, undulated his body like a snake until nothing popped and everything worked smoothly again. Then, with a content sigh, he let his clasped fingers fall to the back of his neck, closed his eyes halfway and simply enjoyed watching his Friday-girl work.

There had never been a more dedicated big sis. Fri took her duties to make sure her human family members were safe very seriously. Collecting accurate data to draw conclusions for the surveys they needed may take an awful amount of server capacity, but that didn't stop his AI. There were enough external servers running throughout the SI network she could borrow.

Tony nudged her attention to areas where he thought she should pay more attention and otherwise helped her weigh the data she collected from all over the net. It made him sad to think back when he did the same with J. Not that the quality of her work was sub-par...

There would be no cheap and simple representative/proxy survey, but she lacked the experience to correctly predict the impact of some of the sub-groups of the populace.

"I will never get used to watching you two juggle numbers. JARVIS was never this... playful." Pepper had been working on her own projects, snuggled on the love seat across from Tony's couch, her socked feet resting on the low table.

She was not correct, but J had not been as enthusiastically calculating than Fri had turned out to be, but he hadn't lacked verve if he thought the situation warranted it.

"She has seeded the net with probing control questions two days ago and we are now checking how the sheep are reacting."

"That's callous." Pepper lifted her cup to her lips and took an appreciative sip. "I approve. Nevertheless I'll never ask Friday to do product surveys for me. It would be cheating."

Twin loud belly laughs, one feminine one masculine, resounded through the room, joined by the giggling of a girl.

"So, shoot. How are we doing on the world stage?" Pepper drew her long legs under her and put her pad away to concentrate fully.

Tony collected a set of data, turned it around so it would not be back-to-front, duplicated it with a snip of his fingers and then threw the copy to his friend before righting the original.

He knew that she was perfectly able to interpret the percentages on her own, it was her bread and butter. Tony only commented on the bits he found most interesting. "The US public is fairly enamored with 'Jori', the overall approval has risen to nearly 75 percent. Which is nice, we have converted some of the conservatives who never thought I could do anything right. The more fanatical fraction hasn't changed their opinion, but we knew they wouldn't."

He called up a map where the percentages were divided into the different states, age groups and income brackets and a different one for the rest of the world.

"It's the fanatics that won't budge, no matter what, but they aren't as dangerous without the backing of the basis," Friday voiced her opinion and highlighted a section on the readout.

“Hm, true. Any troubling comments on Jor's eye color or general appearance?” Pepper asked.

“No, someone used one of the clearer shots to edit it into a picture that showed only his eyes, and reposted it, but without any description where they found it, to a database about beautiful expressive eyes. It earned a lot of approval. A few people have guessed about Jori’s less than earthly origins, but that's more a side effect of Boss' - how do you call it Ms. Potts?- usual and widely public shenanigans. Tony Stark attracts the unusual.”

“Hey, no ganging up on me!” Tony protested lightheartedly.

“Now, the opinions about whether you are a good guardian, that's where we have to work overtime. At the moment there are a good many people who are of the opinion that Tony Stark is a great uncle, but not a good father figure. The sort of person you trust your kid to for an excursion and lots of fun. but not suited to the plain and down to earth daily difficulties of raising a child.”

The good mood got sucked out of the room. Tony knew where this was going. “Let me guess, it all comes down to my playboy persona plus Steven Fucking Rogers' actions painting me as 'not worthy'?”

“Got it in one,” confirmed Friday.

“The interview later today should give me some room to work on the Cap issue. But the other thing - I won't let them into my home and stage some 'Keeping up with the Starks' to alleviate their fears. I will not give them my privacy, I will not.” The thought alone made Tony's skin crawl.

Pepper scrolled through her screen and flipped to the pages Friday indicated as relevant. “Even then most of them would be skeptical. It's the kind of stunt that looks very artificial.”

“It's been months since I had sex with something else than Madam Palm and her five daughters, I'm a changed man!”

Pepper raised one immaculately styled eyebrow.

“No Mr. Palm either,” pouted Tony.

“How is Loki, by the way?” Pepper asked slyly, highlighted a few points and added addendums.

Tony choked on his water. She had timed that perfectly! “Interesting jump in topics, Pep!”

“It wasn't a big jump,” she teased. “How did James put it when he complained about how much time you spent watching anything God of Lies related? Teenage crush? But I have to disagree.”

Tony smiled, despite his rising dread. He had missed her teasing him so much when their romantic relationship had fallen apart. Much more than the sex, which should have been a big hint. “You disagree?”

“Teenagers only _think_ that they like tall, dark, and dangerous. I know you definitely do and I hope you'll be able to handle it.” There was a serious undertone mixed into the taunting.

The man of his current dreams, literally -and didn't that make him sound like he was fifteen even in his own head? - was no secret. Tony had learned his lesson and was discussing his encounters with Loki with the people he trusted. He wasn't telling Rhodey and Pepper every detail of his meetings, but they knew the gist.

“I want you to be very sure of what you are doing and how it will play out outside of your shared dreams. Loki is the sort of complicated that will influence all aspects of your life and that of your company and allies as well. Do you think Loki will fit in among the tower? Will he even want to? And Tony, I know sometimes important nuances escape your notice, but you to have to get your ducks in a row or you will hurt Jori.”

Tony sat up and erased the screens. “Jor?”

Pepper nodded, her gaze frank and serious. “The tone of voice when he calls for Tony? It's the same as other kid's, but they use Daddy instead. That kid loves you and depends on you, maybe even more than on Loki right now, because you represent security.”

Tony hid his mouth behind a hand and cleared his suddenly dry throat.

“You did not calculate with a kid in mind when you made your original plans. I don't care if you go to bed with Loki to satisfy a craving or if you are working on a real partnership, but try to find a way to share space peacefully or it will be the kid that pays the price. I've read those papers, the UN will insist that you are housing Loki as well. He's the sort of volatile they don't want attached to them in person or relation.” Pepper picked up her own work again and went back to tapping away, leaving Tony to his thoughts.

.-#-.

 

There wasn't any discrete stage make-up on his face this time either, but Tony Stark was a lot more casually clothed in a plain, but perfectly tailored dark slacks and one of his newer band T-shirts. One without stains, holes or rips. There was no point in faking suburban normal. He would never fit that mold.

Friday and Happy had collaborated on security and background checks and now Christine Everhart, in a very fetching dark blue Dior ensemble, and a camera crew were milling through the room, checking for the perfect light conditions and taking candid shots of Tony talking to the reporter.

“I've thought that we would meet in your penthouse?”

She wasn't one to play around.

“I changed my mind, I hope you'll understand.” He handed her a data stick and with a wary glare Christine gave it to her assistant to load onto their laptop. “It's a collection of photos. All of them snapshots, but selected to give the viewer a glimpse of my daily life. It's a compromise to inviting you up. I was never overly bothered with that kind of security breach before, but after some rather upsetting scenes I decided that my personal rooms are a safe zone for Jori and me, where he can be sure not to encounter strangers.”

The reporter wasn't happy, but she nodded. “We can use all of this for my exclusive?” She gestured at the already recording camera. Everybody in the room knew that meeting Jori had never been in the cards.

Tony nodded and threw in one of his more charming smiles.

The level they were on now was nicely furnished and stylish, it was the space dedicated to housing short term guests and conducting meetings with people that weren't in his inner circle.

They slowly walked over to the seating area, making small talk and giving the lighting assistant time to assess the environment she had to work with. Tony consented to being carefully positioned on the couch and resignedly gave in to having his face done up a little bit, he joked with the staff. Then it got down to business.

“Now, Tony Stark. What do you always say, everyone knows who you are. At least they think they do.”

Tony placed his left arm along the backrest. “After over forty years of me hogging the spotlight – they should.”

“And the bad thing is, I can't accuse you of being arrogant, you are only stating the obvious.” Christine nodded, charming laugh line appeared beside her eyes. Time hadn't stopped for her either since he invited her up for a one night stand, but as someone who had seen all kinds of plastic surgery, he appreciated her more natural looks.

“The public attention has been growing, not lessening since your interview two weeks ago. Photographers and reporters have laid siege to your tower and from Senators to housewives, everyone is debating Iron Man turning into Iron Daddy.”

“Which is hyperbole on so many levels _and_ simplifying a very complex situation. I can't say that my new responsibilities haven't altered my priorities. Having direct responsibility for an innocent kid is only making me try harder to make the world safe for him though.”

“This sounds not like the Tony Stark we know. Even a little bit rehearsed?” Christine simply wasn't someone who beat around the bush.

“Nope.” Tony popped the p, offering the camera his profile while looking out into the sky outside before turning back. “It's just something I've been thinking about a lot. One congressman has phoned me and called me selfish for giving up protecting the people in favor of concentrating on a kid that is, and that's a direct quote, not even my own blood. Not gonna surprise anyone who’s opinion I value when I say that the senator in question is now persona non grata to me.”

He pointed at the waiting bottles of sparkling water and glasses on a nearby table when Christine had to clear her throat.

“No, thank you. I'm tempted to ask for his name. Very bad form, that remark.” Her eyes sparkled.

“Not at all in line with the family value spiel that is so popular in political circles. But if I have to give you a comprehensive list of all the assholes that have been calling me, we'll be on it till the interview is over. But fortunately there are a lot of really decent people out there as well and they are very supportive.” He snapped his fingers and a photo was projected onto the table.

It showed a conference room full of stacked letters, small toys and, to Tony's exasperation, lot's of seed packages, potted plants in all sizes and gardening tools.

A laugh escaped Christine. “Oh my.”

“OK, people.” Tony looked directly at the camera, a playful scowl playing on his lips. “Thank you. I'm very touched by your support and I will share the letters and cards with Jori when he is more used to the modern era. We called in the nice Botanist that led us through the gardens because frankly, you have to worry more about me trying to take care of plants than of little boys. Yep, Tony Stark has a black thumb, it's official. The good doctor has rescued your offerings. Some of them are now upstairs but we couldn't take them all, my penthouse isn’t that big, and they have found new homes. You not only made me feel better about the human race, you made some old people in retirement homes very happy as well. As for the toys. May I please ask you to send your thoughtful gifts to children's hospitals instead or donate the money to the Maria Stark Foundation?” He ratcheted the pleading up another notch.

“I want to tell the public that I haven't abandoned them at all, I'm still healing from my injuries and not ready for battle. Iron Man will soar through the skies again soon for fun and hopefully with a mission much later.”

Now it was going to get a lot more uncomfortable. The way Christine was smiling indicated a lioness on the hunt. “You confirmed last time that the leaked evidence pictures are not fake. The injuries looked pretty severe. I've asked a top notch ER surgeon about his opinion. Will you tell me how close he got?

Tony grimaced but nodded.

This time she didn't pretend that she had to check her notes, she simply and slowly counted a list of injuries. "Type three pulmonary laceration caused by blunt force trauma to the chest, in turn causing punctures from fractured ribs. Severe tissue damage exacerbated by hypothermia and delayed first aid. The surgeon thought it was likely that additional internal bleeding occurred. All in all life threatening injuries.”

Hearing the list damage done to his body again was making Tony want to stand up and walk away. He had lived through them, he wanted to be done with them, but they kept acting like a severed limb, causing him pain without being there anymore.

"Most of the lacerations were caused by pieces of my smashed suit being forced inwards. An armor is only a defense as long as it is structurally sound, as soon as it breaks it becomes an additional health hazard. Every armor smith does his best to delay that point in a fight as far as possible, but everything breaks if enough force is applied at the right angle and the right edge. It doesn't take Einstein level intelligence to figure out that without power an exosuit made of titanium gold alloy and lots of electronics is heavy. And it's metal. Metal and ice cold? Bad combination, ask anyone who ever tried the tongue to lamppost experiment."

“I understand that you still can't say more about the conflict that caused that fight because of the ongoing international investigation into what is publicly called the superhero Civil War. A lot of people are very vocal about what you could have done to deserve Captain America nearly killing you.”

“If you base your answer on Rogers' actions...” Tony laughed harshly and devoid of any humor, “then I deserve how he treated me because I let my feelings about how much I love my mum and how much I despise being lied to overwhelm me.”

“That does sound cryptic.” He could see how much Christine wanted to push that point, how her investigative instincts were howling at her to dig and claw and take apart everything until she had all the details she wanted.

Tony shrugged his shoulders and grimaced. “I am not proud about my reaction and I'm not going to offer any excuses. I shouldn't have lost my head. At that point I can say that any friendship with Steve Rogers died and will not be resurrected, but what makes me unable to forgive him is his callous disregard and dishonorable behavior after the fight was over.

“The circumstance and timeline of my rescue from Siberia are well documented and available. The evacuation team was alerted by an automated system I programmed just for circumstances like this, after my suit went completely offline. The EMTs that stormed the bunker were the initial first aid providers, nobody else had come to my aid until that moment which the state of my suit amply demonstrated.” He snatched one of the bottles and emptied half of it in one go. The viewers would have to forgive him for his stress at reciting that torturous incident.

One of the selfish reasons why he loved his Loki dreams so much was because they kept other dreams at bay. Dreams where he was forever caught trying to get out of a dead suit, fighting against something that he had built with his own hands and that had turned against him with the merciless impact of a shield onto his chest.

“There were three more people with me in that location before leaving me behind and unless someone has invented technology that allows teleportation, they were there with vehicles. All modern vehicles have first aid supplies, among them thermal-blankets. I tell you Christine, I would have given a lot for one of those after a few minutes on the floor.”

“I can only imagine.” The reporter gave him a few seconds before speaking up again. “You told me to investigate and I did.”

Tony forced another laugh. “Well, me succeeding at telling you what to do would make it a first time, it's the other way around with us usually.”

“True.” Christine nodded. “The bare bones records of your rescue aren't secret, you are right. And they are a gruesome reading material. 78 minutes between the call for help and them arriving, 23 minutes to get you out of your armor and getting you ready for transport. I've heard opinions that claim that some of the damage you took is your own fault for not anticipating a powerless suit and installing manual release hatches.”

The memory of Pepper's hands awkwardly gliding over his armor clad body bubbled up and Tony sent his friend a silent apology for being a dunderhead engineer.

He had profited from Everhart's tenacious nosiness before when it had been applied to the Ten Rings, but today it was torturous. Hadn't he wanted to scratch the polish on perfect Cap's armor? He was paying for that opportunity with pain, again. Nothing on earth came without a price.

“Those are some first and second generation design flaws, I'm counting my versions in the forties by now. I did factor in a no power scenario. They would have worked but for two crucial interfering facts. I found out the hard way that reaching them when every movement shifts bone fragments around and pushes metal ones deeper inside is next to impossible. My face plate had been torn off and warmth was seeping out at a terrifying speed. Trying to open hatches that are frozen over with ice and blood? No.”

Christine was looking a little green around the gills.

“I'm sorry, was that too descriptive?” Tony wasn't sorry at all and hoped it didn't show on his face. 

“A little bit, yes. I took first responder training and I know how important every minute can be. Being left for 78 minutes, alone in a dead suit, in an abandoned building, in the freezing cold. This does not shed a positive light on Captain America, I agree but you have to admit that at that point you were enemies.”

Tony drank the last of his water and carefully set the bottle down on the floor, taking the time to get control of his trembling fingers. Then he took a deep breath and sought eye contact with Christine.

“Granted. But I was no threat to anyone at that point, but Rogers didn't even check on my condition before he left the bunker. Do you know what every decent law enforcement officer sees as their duty after taking down even the most dangerous criminal? They render first aid until help arrives. I am not a criminal. I was a member of his team, under his command for years, but it seemed to count for nothing in his eyes. Yes, I could have gotten away with a black eye and contusions. Or died outright. He didn't check. That I am alive today is despite anything Rogers had done.”

“Even soldiers are asked to provide aid to captured enemies when possible. It is considered human, merciful, and honorable.” Christine thoughtfully added. “Normally you aren't as forthcoming with information. I expected you to clam up and go for some entertaining diversion.”

Tony knew that they were nearly at the end of the interview. “It's not longer all about me. My kid will no doubt inherit some of my enemies, but I want to lessen the public enmity directed towards him. There were death threats among those letters that were sent. Against a five year old kid, can you imagine? People want to hurt him because he stands in opposition to the ideal of Steve Rogers, if only by association with me. An ideal which does nobody any favors, not even Rogers, because we are all human and can't live up to such high expectations. Sometimes not even to low expectations.

“There are nutcases running around who will act on their aggression and they want to use any justification they can find. Hopefully some of them will calm down and not be as militant when you give them the facts. And due to my reputation I can't be the one delivering them.” He allowed an honest, tired smile to shine through.

They waited until the camera man screwed a cap over the lens.

Christine had lost her professional aura, her arms crossed over her nicely curvy chest and she had a scowl on her face. “That's some explosive sound bites you've given me, Stark. Any directions on how to use them?”

The challenge was plain.

Tony snatched the second, unopened bottle. “None whatsoever.”

TBC

 


	13. One step closer (maybe)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm havong so much fun, thank you all for the positive attention.
> 
> The finsihed fic will be...hm, around 130k words. I had to pick and chose what scenes I want to write and where time jumps are needed. I hope I managed to represent the relationship and character development in a way that feels natural. Ah yes, smut ahead.
> 
> As always, big Kudos to my dear beta reader who made this so much better. Any remaining mistakes are my own.

Pepper might joke that she should have known that it would take godly intervention to make Tony develop a halfway regular sleeping cycle. She cheerfully announced it one day at breakfast when Tony had joined them with his hair in a state that made clear that he had come from the bedroom, not the lab.

“I don’t care if it’s down to father or son or a combination, Tony. More healthy sleep is better for you!”

What the beautiful redhead had never understood was that sleeping always seemed to be such a waste of time in Tony’s eyes before. It was in turns terrifying, boring, and you had nothing to show for the hours spent, but sweat soaked sheets and a bad taste in your mouth. Five hours tops was completely sufficient to refuel an adult male body. There were studies that he could quote.

The difference from regular dreams to his dream encounters with the trickster was that the negatives aspects didn’t apply to the second. They met nearly every night to discuss strategy, flirt, and annoy each other.

It had taken Loki a few nights to even out emotionally and to actually trust Tony without testing him with every word. The trickster still did it, but it had lost the cutting edge. Tony could measure the progress best with how the other man reacted to information about his son. At first Loki had waited, icily arrogant, until Tony had offered to turn on the Jor channel himself. A few nights later he had asked outright and by now he was snottily demanding that Tony shared his memories and he freely commented on what he saw.

The resulting fights about appropriate breakfast food and other topics had been epic.

It was a good thing that time ran different in dreams or nothing of importance would get done.

The StarkLifetimeTV got used a lot, and not only the kid channel. It proved to be a very versatile tool to show and explain events to each other, especially in cases where the culture clash threw them off course. His holograms would be superior, but this visual help was better than none and with increased regularity the mage offered his own memories in turn.

Loki had looked very thoughtful when Tony had shown him a recording of Thor’s visit, but didn’t comment apart from snorting about Sif’s disobedience and confirming that the jewel was indeed intended for Jormungand’s safety. 

If there was more than a notice-me-not ward on the gem, Tony couldn’t say, but there was one fact he would stake his life on: Loki would never hurt his son, so the engineer didn’t feel the need to ask.

Both mad genius and capricious god were holding back some information and both were aware of it. Whenever Loki stopped talking, tilted his head just so, smirked at Tony and taunted him or when Tony got exceedingly technical while explaining one of his inventions they would stop, measure each other with their eyes and - smile.

And the flirting, oh dear. There were fun reasons for Tony’s sheets to be sweaty (and sticky) in the mornings. Which was embarrassing because they hadn’t progressed to touching yet.

In the waking world things were picking up speed and at the same time trying to slow down mad inventors who had better things to do than spend hours bent over financial prognosis reports for the next business quarter. Pepper had relaxed a lot, but she was of the firm opinion that if he wanted to spread the candy land atmosphere, play and work with a bunch of engineers in research and development as the creative head of the department, then he had to do the paperwork too. And no cheating allowed.

Last night it had been Tony’s turn to lend a sympathetic ear to the woes of governing a people that loved nothing more than to feast and fight, sometimes at the same time. Plus, Loki had his own gaggle of interfering old busy bodies and foreign dignitaries who were pestering him with requests and were feeding on his time and patience with their utter self absorbed nonsense.

“Lokes, I feel your pain.” Tony had shook his head. “It sounds like the worst torture you could inflict on them is being forced to attend one silly stage production after the other and I’m not talking about Shakespeare quality.”

“I like Shakespeare.”

“You like opera!!!” Tony accused but laughed at the same time. The glee on Loki’s face was doing funny things to his heart. Should he feel bad about giving Loki ideas, feel bad for the Æsir? Nah. At least one of them should get to indulge a little bit.

They had abandoned the coffee shop after only two more nights. It was agonising to be there without the possibility of actual nectar of the gods being involved. And boy, Loki’s offended stare when Tony had used that phrase would be forever seared in the inventor’s brain.

They were now meeting either in the throne room in Asgard, for the invasion preparation powwows, or in a version of his penthouse for the private topics.

Tony’s brain still refused to acknowledge the green invasion of his home that was taking place right under his nose and subsequently didn’t include the plants in the dreams; and he had reconstructed the living room to make space for Hlidskjalf. Loki was bound to that interior design failure.

Tonight though, fuelled by anger, Tony’s consciousness was materializing in the throne room, trembling and frothing mad. No changing the location, no friendly banter.

Loki and Tony had needed a few dreams to work out the kinks and how to better talk to each other without starting a fight, but it didn't always work. Both men had sore points and one of the main ones was everything blond, buff, and irritating.

There had been another fucking letter in the post. Handwritten on real paper, in a crisp white envelope, without a return address.

The furious genius paced up and down. It was that or setting everything on fire.

“Listen to this shit!”

He wiped out a copy of the letter and began to read it aloud. 

  
  


> _ Dear Tony, _
> 
>  
> 
> _ I have been overjoyed to see you look healthy and hale on television.  _
> 
> _ I cannot say that I approve of your dragging Howard’s good name into the mud by implying that he did not love you enough. Howard Stark was a hero and had a good and giving heart. He would be sad to see his only son poisoned by revenge and misplaced anger. _
> 
>  
> 
> _ When I grew up I was witness to war veterans of WWI in my neighbourhood and how detrimental internalised anger can be to a family. I truly wish that you could find it in your heart to let go. Especially because you have taken on a huge responsibility by caring for a young child and he deserves better. _
> 
>  
> 
> _ It is clear that you are not ready to see the other side of our disagreement, like I hoped. But I still believe in your potential and my sincere offer to stand by your side when you need me will hold true, always. _
> 
>  
> 
> _ Your friend, _
> 
> _ Steve Rogers  _

 

“That sanctimonious, addle brained idiot! Fucking unbelievable!” Hah, if this was how Rogers reacted to the Press Conference he would _love_ Christine's report when it aired.Tony set the abomination on fire. Called up another thousand copies, evenly spaced throughout the hall and then set them on fire too. Dream powers of destruction were very satisfying, he would have to recommend this to Dr. Stein, his therapist.

“At least they burn prettily,” Loki commented drily.

In retrospect, Tony wasn’t proud about the long rant he then delivered, accompanied by more pyrokinetics and very foul language, something he knew Loki wasn’t too fond of. The swearing. Loki loved blowing things up.

Experience had taught Tony that whenever the trickster got annoyed, he called up more than the one clone that he needed to act as his mouthpiece. There were two of them flanking the throne at the moment. Loki had explained their need once, it had to do with concentration and arcane powers outside a mere mortal’s preview - which sounded like some excuse to Tony, but what did he know about magic?

But all of that was now a distant second thought to Tony’s fury. Thinking about the exclusive interview Christine would publish in a few days - no, Tony’s conscience didn’t offer even one miniature twitch for pointing Roger’s less honorable side out to the public.

Not. One. Bit.

After showing more patience than a more level headed Tony Stark would have attributed him with the trickster had enough. The temperature in the hall fell even more and ice began to form on everything, but the throne.

“Are you lusting after that golden boy? You are certainly talking about him as much as a maiden about her first crush." Cue the sneer in duplicate with the real Loki on his throne mirroring it.

Tony was still mad and not thinking too clearly about what came out of his mouth. "Blond and beefcake is not my cuppa. If it was, I would go for the ultimate in that category and that means, don't flip your shit, that I would aim for Thor."

The specters began to fade as well as the throne, which Tony had learned meant that Loki was withdrawing from the dream. That cooled his ire down like nothing else would. Fuck it all if he let Rogers sour his relationship with someone who was much more interesting than the man without a good plan.

"No need to get needlessly jealous. I'm shallow, ask any random American, if they are pretty I'll try them once and forget them in the morning. But to keep my interest? Smart is sexy. Sense of humor and sarcasm? Oh yes. Devious is sexy too, but I can't stand inflexible people." Which had been what in the end had broken his romantic relationship with Pepper.

Additionally to Tony being an asshole and Iron Man.

"Oh, such sweet words, my heart is all aflutter," echoed in the room, but the outlines of the figures reaffirmed. Loki bent forward and the eery golden lights cast sharp shadows on his face, dividing it into razor planes and harsh lines. "I should be convinced that you're not only trying to find another way to placate me?"

Tony flung up his hands. "We've been flirting with each other since you broke my tower. And hey, cannot lie in my own dream, I thought we established that little factoid?"

"There are ways around every restriction if you try hard enough . Which we also found out, didn't we?" Loki's tone of voice had gone from tempestuous to playful.

"Ok. Whatever. I, Anthony Edward Stark, think that Loki of Asgard is sex on legs." Tony stalked up the steps, reckless and daring.

Loki rested his chin in his hand. "Hmm."

"Hmm?"

"I see three ways around that proclamation," smirked the sorcerer.

Which made the human genius replay his own words in his head. "Ah."

"Does me catching it turn you on?" Loki asked.

The two clones circled Tony, each of them purring the words.

Unfair!

"Oh, I didn't intend that to be a test. Lying to the Liesmith, bad idea. And the answer to your question is yes." Tony made the last words into a hiss of his own and added a hint of playful growling.

Green eyes stared into his and then slowly wandered south, halted over his lips, another short stop over the blue glow in his chest and down. Oh so slowly downward with wordless twitches and stretches of those sinfully mobile lips.

"Is that a dare?" Tony ignored the dreary scenery and went for the only real parts of his dream outside his own person: the throne and Loki. He boldly sat down on one armrest.

"And here I thought you're a genius?" Loki answered the question with a mocking question of his own, his gaze intently back on the human's face.

Tony could see a challenge and something that might be mistaken for longing. He had to make sure that it wasn't his subconscious translating wishful thinking into something false. In this world between reality and dream his eyes couldn't always be trusted, and tonight his emotions were running high. But his hands had never let him down here. Tony put on his best smile.

Tony wasn't the king of taking risks for nothing. And why not? It was his own damn dream and he and Reindeer Games had flirted by death threats practically from the moment they met. So yes, of course Tony reached out and touched.

Of course he did. Tony had to hold back a relieved huff when the expression he was scrutinizing didn’t dissolve into something else under his touch.

Loki was staring back, eyes narrowed, but curious and Tony softly pressed his palm against Loki's cheek and curled his fingers. Felt warm flesh, and hard bones, tilting into his touch just a little bit. He moved his thumb, spread his fingers to get more. More of the smooth skin and more of the soft gasps from too many directions, but the one he really wanted it to hear it from.

Tony’s legs and ass were getting cold to the bones and he felt ridiculous perching on the armrest of that fucking throne like a strange bird of prey. It was uncomfortable. Some stupid ornamental, completely unnecessary bit was digging into his backside, very much not in the fun way, and he was nose to nose with a being that stared at him like Tony was prey. Which was more than ok with Tony as long as the catching was done with carnal acts in mind and not bloody mayhem.

And if there was something Tony could never abide, it was backing off, hadn’t they already established that point? The foggy breaths out of their mouths were mixing and swirling around each other and all Tony could think of was that he wanted his fingers to grab those slicked back strands of hair and tug, force them into disarray. Tug until he was near enough to lick over that sharp jawline and chase the superior smirk off those tempting lips.

This wasn't one of the projected clone versions of Loki, well groomed and with every detail in place and polished to shine. This Loki was staring back at Tony with poison-green eyes out of a haggard face and it made the mortal man ignore the pretty doppelgangers who circled them while he bent forward - and was prevented from losing his balance and falling by an grip like stone on his shoulder – and Tony did what he had wanted and let his closed mouth glide along the trickster's jawline until he reached the ear and could nose the curly mess away and he whispered-

“Now, how about that?” Tony trusted the other man not to let him fall and nuzzled behind his ear, drew in the slightly smoky and leathery scent.

All of his senses told him that this was not part of the dream.

”Take care about what kind of games you are playing,” a specter Loki growled at his back, then circled the pair and took the other armrest as a seat.

“No games,” Tony whispered and felt real-Loki turn his head slightly more in his direction, watched the thin nostrils flare.

“Your seduction technique needs work.”

“And here I thought I was the one who got... reeled in.”

The grip on his shoulders altered, fast like a snake and instead of securely propping him up, the hard fingers dragged him down from his impromptu perch.

Tony laughed with abandon and scrambled until he was kneeling chest to chest, with the trickster between his thighs. The seat was big enough for both of them, but the engineer doubted that whoever built the monstrosity had this activity in mind. They even managed to settle themselves without any embarrassing accident, like knees pressing down where they would definitely not feel good.

And instead of taking initiative, as Tony would have expected, (and wasn’t that always the first mistake to make with Loki?) the trickster leaned back fully, both his arms casually flung sideways on the armrests and he crowned the arrogant picture he made by raising his chin  _ just so. _

If he wanted to give Tony a chance to indulge in some exploring, Tony was not stupid enough to say no to such a card blanche. He took a moment to catalogue what was there to work with. Loki was wearing his full battle gear again, Tony had only seen him in more casual clothes during their more relaxed meetings in the penthouse section of their dreams.

“Oh how devious, tempting the armorsmith with free access to an alien example of his personal favorite craft. And such a intriguing one to boot.” Tony hooked his fingertips under the edge of the finely forged shoulder plates and followed the fastening leather strips down to where they disappeared under the outer coat.

“I think, between us two, we can agree that it isn’t necessarily the design, it is what’s inside that makes the outer shell dangerous.”

It was a good thing that Tony had by now ample practice ignoring that the answering voice was coming from the wrong source.

Tony smiled back, bright and delighted, curled his fingers sharply inward and yes, like he suspected, there were hidden hooks. It wasn’t difficult for the genius to manipulate them into releasing their hold and make the layers gape open. This was something amateurs never took into account. Armor was time intensive to put on perfectly, but in a pinch you had to - ah, hell.

He sighed and closed his eyes for a bit. Those memories didn’t belong here.

“Problem?”

“No, just a reminder that sometimes I’m an idiot,” Tony murmured.

The body under him shifted, slender but strong limbs moved and rubbed against the inside of his thighs, and he could feel the panels and layers of the battle gear shift with their owner’s body.

Now it was Loki’s turn to capture Tony’s jaw in one of his hands and take control, and when the genius opened his eyes again he was a breath away from drowning in green ones. Whatever the trickster was seeing, it made him tilt his head, the gaze intensifying.

“The difference between us and ignorant ants? We might repeat our mistakes, we might not, but we always  _ learn _ from them.” And then he moved in and kissed Tony, seared his mouth with heat and chased away anything that wasn’t the trickster.

They followed each other's tongues back and forth. When one of them thought he had conquered territory, the other disabused him of that foolish notion by pushing back and vise versa. Teeth, lips, moans, every options was used to get more.

More of the taste, more of the sheer physicality of nearly melting with another person.

And Tony felt giddy with elation and joy, wanted to laugh and growl but could not because his mouth had more important things to do. Hah, he proved that even gods were helpless against the desire in their veins, got breathless, got trembling and bucking, moving hard and eager against his own frontside and trapped cock. It was the level of power that proved to be the most obvious difference to past lovers, because after a certain point the mortal man had to cling to Loki, wrap his arms around the trickster and press his knees against Loki’s hips or risk losing grip.

It reminded him so strongly of taking a really wild ride in his suit, feeling the power all around. Loki’s armor under his hands provided delicious haptic contrast and encouraged that comparison. More often than not it was a good thing that nobody, but his trusted AIs saw him when he stepped out of his armor after a vigorous fight, sweaty and exhilarated. And hard as a rock.

Just like now.

Tony did not know and did not care when and how Loki had gotten rid of his T-Shirt but he was more than ready to praise the other man for his resourcefulness. He was now naked to the waist with his pants open while the chaotic entity in his arms was fully clothed but with everything gaping open at the front. Sex was so much better without obstacles. 

He wrenched his mouth free, gasped for air and did his best to follow up on this thought but-

Loki frantically pressed his face against Tony’s neck, rubbed, nibbled and did his best to get more contact himself. For a second it seemed as if the man wanted to melt with Tony and the mortal wrapped his arms around his partner’s neck to hold him close.

Harsh shudders wracked through Loki and Tony yelped when he felt a hand sneak between them and grip his cock, align it with Loki’s. Fingers caressing and rubbing and-

That was one of the glorious things about fucking a man, they had dicks too. And they knew personally what felt right. What felt great: all vulnerable hardness, heat and texture. similar but different to his own to explore and then - intimately knowing what every little nip, rub and teasing touch would feel like on the other side of the equation. Like-

Ah. Oh yes, like a hard grip with a twist - just _there_.

Tony whimpered and bit into fragrant leather. Most likely Loki's ornate outer collar, he didn't care one bit. It was there, within biting distance and perfect so he wouldn't embarrass himself by keening too loudly. The organic taste and the texture of masterfully molded leatherwork, earthy and exotic both, burst on his tongue and his whimper deepened into a moan. Something small and coldly metallic provided contrast under his tongue. This was real, real, real…

“Wow." Tony sighed happily and rested his forehead on an armor clad, heaving shoulder. Fuck, even in their dreamworld he'd gone all sweaty and sticky, which - awesome.

Something suddenly occurred to Tony, made him laugh and sit up. "Did we just get off on your father's all-seeing super magical throne? One dimension over to the left, but still?" And did it mean that Loki's real body, sitting on the throne, was now in dire need of some clothes refreshment?

"Foster father and yes, we did." Loki stretched languorously under Tony and his armor opened a little bit more and taunted Tony with glimpses of milky pale skin. "Any regrets?"

"Hah. No. Wanna do it again?"

"It's nearly morning in your part of Midgard."

"I can sleep in. And it was you who told me that time runs differently here." Tony's hands, practically without asking his brains for permission, delved under leather and linen cloth.

Who would have thought that sleep could be so much fun.

 

TBC

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS.: I did my very salty best to keep the follow up letter in character and voice so it matches that... monstrous insult masquerading as an apologyletter in the post credits scene of CACW.


	14. Games (some more dangerous than others)

Of course Pepper took one look at him in the morning when he joined her for boring business torture and giggled.

“What?”

“At least I don’t have to throw out Mr. Palm.”

 

.-#-.

 

“Tony? Come on, you’ve got to see this.” Rhodey stuck his head inside the remodelled study, now a workroom for the billionaire.

Tony held up his hand, two fingers outstretched, asking for two more moments and carefully nudged the fine cable in place before placing the node. It was always the left boot repulsor that acted up, for whatever reason.

“We’ve got company, Rainbow Bright!” he cheerfully directed at the screen and the person on the other side without taking his eyes away from the node.

Dr. Jane Foster called out a greeting to Rhodes and then closed her side of the connection, the screen she had been on fading out.

“Talking shop with Foster?” Rhodey asked and waited for his friend to store everything away properly.

“She’s working with me on a project.”

The upstairs workroom was one of the first things Mama Rhodes had insisted on after joining their ragtag band of misfits. “Yes, Jori comes first. But going stir crazy because you can’t tinker, that helps nobody. Hopefully not everything you do has the tendency to blow up, yes? Do the less dangerous stuff upstairs and leave the rest down. Honestly, I remember how you nearly made my oven do the _laundry_ before we gave in and allowed you to get gramp’s old rust bucket running again!”

His best friend’s mum was now in her sixties, a resolute and energetic woman who had never taken any shit from him. Mama Rhodes had arrived at the tower, had taken one long look at Tony, then gathered him into her arms. Pretty much just like when Rhodes had dragged his four years too young and a few pounds too thin new MIT roommate home with him for thanksgiving.

“Thank you so much for taking care of my James,” she had whispered into his ear and hugged him harder. She smelled the same. And did not allow him to protest.

Another rule she had enforced from the get go was that, while they all should indeed feel and act like a big family, privacy was tantamount and everyone was responsible for their own living space and what she called core unit people. Everyone else was a family friend or a visitor and should act accordingly. Margaret Rhodes was a take no prisoner kind of lady, she had taken the days her son had helped her move with information gathering - Rhodey called it interrogation intead - and after observing the tower crowd for a few days, she had sat the adults down in one of the conference rooms on the guest level.

Tony and Pepper had looked at Rhodey, saw how he placidly complied with his mother’s commands and wisely followed his example.

“None of you have any experience with managing a family that includes a small kid, and from what I’ve seen you aren’t doing too badly, don’t make such long faces. Jormungand is healing and feels safe, which is most important of all. James hasn’t called me because you are terrible at parenting, he called me because you’ve been thrown into the deep end. I understand that you are unable hire someone as a babysitter and soundingboard because you can’t fully trust their intentions.”

That assessment had been a good recap. “Once bitten, twice shy. Friday is great with background checks, but after some of the stunts SHIELD has pulled I’m short on trust.” Tony had nodded.

Margaret had ruffled Tony’s hair as if he was a boy and not in his forties. “Exactly. Darling, I’m very happy that you invited me to join you all and the apartment is a dream, thank you so much. Since Georgie has moved to Florida I’ve been rattling around in that old house. Jamie hinted that we’ve got big trouble incoming and that you’ll be busy. Your Friday and I, we’ll be holding down the fort and protecting the chick while you are away smashing bugs. But I’m not the nanny.”

“Once a teacher…” Tony had teased.

“Hah, yes. One never stops being a teacher, and I’m a science teacher at heart.”

She had the same look in her eyes that her son now sported, amused and indulgent, which told Tony that whatever had caught Rhodey’s interest today and made him interupt Tony wasn’t a new crisis. 

“Have the new joints integrated well with the automated jump systems?” the inventor asked and followed his friend out of the room.

“Remember my comment about not wanting to fly to the moon? Everything’s working fine Tones, let me put these babies through their paces before you have me try out the next generation. They are really great even without further improvements.”

They would also never replace a healthy spine.

“OK, try to remember what stealth is. You know, the sneaky stuff we regularly trained for at the compound? I convinced Friday not to give us away.” Rhodes placed one finger on his mouth and then silently glided to the halfway open kid’s room door. Which- yes, points for Team Stark on the bracers design!

Tony went low. He could hear different voices and peaked around the corner, feeling more than a little bit silly for doing so in his own home.

“Oh.” It didn't take more than a few seconds to understand what he was observing but it took minutes to fully grasp how incredible it was.

The room had been transformed from elegant, but nondescript into a room that told anyone who looked in that it was Jor’s room, fulfilling Tony’s wish from a few weeks ago. The bed had stayed, as had most of the furniture, but colorful rugs, pillows and throws added warmth. And of course there were plants. Tony had tried to protest, weren’t plants in a bedroom room bad for the sleeper’s health or something like that? Which got him lectured by a five years old that it didn’t matter in a room as big as this one.

There was a giant ever expanding constructor project encroaching on the sides, but the middle of the room was always clear of clutter and Tony had never thought to ask why. Jor was sitting on the rug, Indian style, his nose scrunched up with concentration. His small hands were busy manipulating the projection he was the nexus of.

Tony knew his girl and knew that it had been Friday who designed the restricted virtual environment he was gaping at now, she always tried to make her lines a little looney tunes stylish. She was showing Jor a New York street market, with vendors and different products and was moving everything as if the little kid was walking through it. Some details were greyed out. Whenever Jor touched such an object a voice that was a very good approximation of Loki’s told him the name in Old Norse, if there was a matching equivalent, followed by the English translation in Tony’s voice. If there was no Alfheim or Aesir version, it was only Tony’s voice naming the object and explaining what it was. The kid had to repeat the name correctly for the object to gain color, indicating that Jor was ready for the next step.

Tony’s jaw nearly hit the floor when Jor showed the apple he was holding to the Dick Tracey lookalike vendor and began, in nearly perfect English, a basic sales conversation. Tony knew that the kid was learning fast, they all encouraged him to use new words and ask freely, but most of the time the kid just smiled and blinked.

“You’re doing great, lil bro!” Friday encouraged and played a cheesy 90s Mario Bros’ level complete! melody.

Jor threw the apple back where he had taken it from and all fruits, pans, and other household objects began to dance around him and he named them and threw them back to their places as fast as possible, they exploded in sparkles. A rainbow colored bar on the floor grew with every correct match.

Child and AI were obviously having the time of their lives.

The temptation to call up a screen himself and analyze the data was making his fingers tingle, but Tony shoved it onto the backburner and instead entered the room.

“Hey kiddo, looks like a fun game,” he called out.

“Tony!” The hologram shut down and unfortunately so did the enjoyment on the child’s face.

“Do you want to show me? I might want to try too, I don’t know some of the vocabulary that got used.” How often had he wished for his dad to ask him such a question? But he wasn’t Howard and Jor was not a young version of Tony.

“I wanted to surprise you,” Jor mumbled in English and blinked wetly.

“I asked Friday, he worked very hard on this with Friday’s help. Every minute you were occupied elsewhere, in fact,” Rhodey commented from the door.

Tony stilled. And he had been occupied elsewhere a lot the last few days. Jor's dilligence was commendable but not really healthy. Tony sat himself down on the floor across Jor and reached out. The little boy scrambled into his lap.

“Don't be sad, this is a brilliant surprise and it doesn’t need to be perfect, I’m very proud of you both,” he said and without thinking about it much, pressed a kiss onto Jor’s forehead.

“Really?”

“Yep.” Tony did his best to conceal that he had no idea how to proceed. Apart from making sure that Friday understood that while it might have been fun, it was also not all right to work on something for hours on end, for a kid at least. A conversation that would make him feel like the worst hypocrite on earth but at least he could claim that he knew what he was talking about in _that_ area.

Jor snuggled closer and switched to the language he was feeling more comfortable with. “We kept my mother tongue in as well because Friday said it is important to not forget the basis. Her’s is binary, that is only numbers!”

He rubbed his nose against Tony’s neck. It sent goosebumps up the adult’s spine. He couldn't pin down why though.

 

.-#-.

 

To say that the interview had impacted like a time delayed bomb wasn’t exaggerating much. Tony was sitting in his workshop, the TV on silent, he really didn’t need to hear all that crap again, and tried to simply analyze the aesthetics of the report instead.

The first part of the 35 minutes exclusive had been focused on Jor, history, background, with publically available snapshots and information thrown in. Then it progressed to the actual interview. Christine and her producer had gone for a very reduced and stark -hah!- approach, keeping the cut’s to a minimum and only switching to subtle slow motion to emphasize some points both of them had made, with additional supporting inserts being slipped in into the frame.

It was a visual effect that was popular for procedural drama on TV. Including the sources and crediting origins of the information in white, severe font at the bottom of pictures added the impression of objectivity.

He had wondered about the longer than expected timeframe Christine had needed to finish her little masterpiece. Information was only valuable when it was fresh and exclusive and, despite the scoop of the interview, she must have feared that someone else would sell something similar to the public first.

Then the report finished with the main portion of the recorded conversation and began to show snippets of opinions Christine had collected on the street, from experts, people in law enforcement and the military and Tony abandoned his project to concentrate on the screen.

“Fri, raise the volume.”

“- told ya Stark must have murdered Cap! Cap would neva leave a man behind. That’s what Cap stands for!”

Tony snatched a rag and began to rub the oil from his fingers. He listens as other people, from all walks of life, commented on the press conference.

“Ambassador Compton is on the line Boss!” Friday told him and, without him having to ask her to do it, turned the volume of the TV off again.

“Thanks, Fri. Is she alone?” Tony rolled his chair to a section of his workroom that would not show too much of the room behind his shoulders when he took the call.

“Two others are with her in her office, but not in sight of the camera.”

Tony combed his hair with his fingers, grimaced and then reached for what counted as his version of company manners.

“Good evening, Your Excellency!”

Compton had her reading glasses on and was staring at him from over their top. “Dr. Stark. The good part of the evening is unfortunately debatable.”

“Oh?”

“Don’t play innocent.”

Tony shook his head and spread his fingers. “I never play innocent, it is pointless. Unicorns would have never liked me at all. First it was too much snark then it was too much sex. There’s no point in pretending otherwise.”

She intensified her glare. “You are one of the main initial forces behind our global defense efforts, have you suffered another concussion? That would be unfortunate,” she scolded.

“Not that I know of?” Tony pretended to think on it.

“Dr. Stark, my ears are ringing from the calls I had to take. My fellow Ambassadors and some heads of States, if you can imagine, were all aghast that you might be slipping back into your less responsible frame of mind because you seem to be seeking petty revenge despite what it may cost us. Captain America is an important defender of Earth.” The last sentence was obviously a quote.

Tony huffed. “Rogers is a very good field commander and battle asset. He has charisma in spades and can motivate his troops into acting like a well oiled machine. But he is not the perfect soldier or a panacea against our enemies. It might be more comfortable for a lot of people to indulge in that erroneous belief, but I’m the living example of what happens when reality sets in. I'd rather build my plans on reality, not make believe.”

“I see your point, but are you trying to convince me that you intended that interview as a lesson to the world?”

Lesson to the world? Who came up with that nonsense because Compton wouldn’t be so overdramatic on her own, she was a fan of subtle.

“At the moment I’m feeling more like Cassandra than Chiron.”

“In both cases you are taking pointers from the Greek myths and that can only end in tragedy. Next time-”

Tony had excellent ears, despite his love for loud music, and the minuscule twitch to the right of Compton’s eyes gave him enough warning to pay close attention. He heard the discrete snick of a closing door.

“- let us know beforehand about any other PR disaster you might unleash!” she finished, her mouth, painted a lush mauve today, transformed the angry scowl into a mischievous smile.

“There’s only one other thing I have to say, other than that yes, please inform me next time about when it will hit the public. Are you listening, Anthony?”

“To you, Your Excellency? Always.”

“Well. Done.”  She removed the glasses from her nose. “But I would recommend sending a huge gift basket to my PR department or they will come after you with pitchforks.”

Compton wasn’t the last one who called him that evening. When he slipped into dreamland Tony was for once happy about the lack of real-life technologies there. The number of calls he had avoided was enormous, but since playing ball was the name of the game for the foreseeable future he could not avoid everyone. That he had made Ross’ day of all people was an unintended and unhappy heap on the crap pile. Really, a man of Thaddeus age giggling like a teenager was creepy as fuck.

He was ready to relax.

Tony had to grin broadly because saying that Loki was lounging on the golden monstrosity was not doing the picture justice. The trickster was sitting insolently sideways, one leg thrown across the left armrest, the other curled under him. His long not-leather coat was draped in dramatic waves around him. If Tony tried to do something like that he would look ridiculous and probably tangle in one of the folds and topple over as soon as he tried to stand up.

“Another day filled with listening to people repeat themselves in the hope that you would miraculously alter your opinion?” Tony called out and hurried up the stairs, bent down and kissed the trickster on the mouth. He tasted of something faintly citrusy and honey. Tony used his tongue to trace the outline of the other man’s mouth, paid special attention to the corners so he wouldn’t miss anything else delicious..

Loki would not hesitate to complain if he wasn’t in the mood. He was the master of complaints.

The trickster’s mouth relaxed under his own. Or maybe he had been unsure about how Tony would treat him now, after their last dream. It was hard to guess with Loki.

Prudes who demonized sex could go take a hike. One or a dozen orgasms between two people having fun was the best stress relief ever and something both the trickster and the engineer needed.

The scenery wavered around them and solidified into the penthouse.

Yes, they both could do with a break from the serious stuff.

“How did you ever guess? It’s a good thing nearly everyone fears or respects Odin, but it doesn’t keep them from trying to gain his favor by stroking his ego. Which only tempts me to do something nasty just to shut them up. And you are calling this an adequate greeting?” Loki relaxed and pulled Tony down for a much longer kiss.

A few obnoxiously colored cushions added enough padding to make the throne into something that resembled a couch.

Loki ended the kiss, glanced at them and glared pointedly. “That is an assault to the eyes. I’m all for rebellious audacity but not if you are punishing me as well. Change this atrocity at once, Anthony!” he imperiously demanded.

“Would red and gold be to your taste, your majesty?”

“If this is your way of asking to be placed over my lap,” Loki pulled a grinning Tony up and into the same position as the last night,. “face down, and have my hand slap your bare ass I have to disappoint you. I’m not into pain with people who share my bed.”

“Oh, good, me neither. Fastest way to a flashback. Life is painful enough. Let’s go with black, you can never go wrong with that color.”

Loki smiled faintly and then pulled Tony nearer.

The next kiss they shared was languid, hot but going nowhere. More an intimate conversation in front of a fire than the prequel to a wild ride. When it ended Loki sighed and buried his face in Tony’s neck. This was one of the few times that Tony was happy about not being able to compete in height with giants, it made this much more comfortable, the other man fit against him perfectly.

He began to card through the slicked back hair rhythmically, wishing to feel it in its natural state instead. Tony lengthened the strokes down the bent neck and pressed his fingers into the knotted up mess of muscles he found there. Thankfully, Loki had changed into something more casual, a tunic and loose trousers or the armor would have been in the way.

Loki rubbed his nose against Tony, maybe to enjoy the contrast between clean shaven and goatee, and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

Tony grew slower in his ministrations, his eyebrows drawing together in thought and was promptly punished with sharp teeth nipping him in the meaty place where neck meets shoulder for his negligence.

It was not a chore, he loved to feel the different textures and warm skin under his fingers so he resumed his massage until he he had a boneless heavy mess of trickster leaning against him.

No wonder, Tony knew how good this could feel. There was nothing like sharing some undemanding body contact after a hard day. Pepper had done it for him a handful of times when her timetable had permitted it. How long had it been since someone touched Loki with kindness? Not as a bargain, not in a shape he had borrowed? Just Loki?

Tony would not voice his thoughts, he felt that he was not ready to express such concerns, nor would Loki appreciate hearing them.

A good guy would back off instead of risking taking advantage of someone who might be emotionally vulnerable. Tony was not a good guy.

“Why are Æsir always giving me the impression that they are missing some vital connections in their brain…” Loki mumbled without raising his head, but tightening his grip to make sure that Tony went nowhere.

Where had he heard a version of that in the near past? One that was not his own mental voice? Tony rested his chin on Loki’s head. “You’ll get along great with my girl Friday. She said something similar. I agree fully, by the way, but she says it much better.”

“Hmm. Then I’m looking forward to meeting your daugher,.” Loki murmured and pressed a kiss against Tony’s jaw.

 

.-#-.

 

A week later, with every night in between spent together, Loki’s didn’t greet him with a kiss or a taunt (or both).

He told Tony that the Chitauri would arrive within a year and a half’s time.

TBC


	15. Panic (is a mindkiller)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I personally do not see any reason that would benefit Tony for rekindling his relationship with Steve. Not one. And here's why. 
> 
> By the way, I'm devouring your reviews but most of the time I have to bit my tongue because I do not want to give content away.
> 
> Edit: I edited this chapter some, Snape_Lust pointed out that clemency would be more appropriate than pardons. I will not add an explantion of the term because it would interrupt the flow, but you can find it in the comments, it's a brilliant observation.

The room was built with hosting a lot of people in mind who would be forced to battle the civil way: with words. Everything was in colors that someone had decided were soothing. Which translated to damn boring. The seats were situated around a lowered middle, in separated sections with enough space for the main representative of a country and one or two aids. One small segment of the circle was for guests. One seat was reserved for the chairperson and across someone had placed a dais for a guest-speaker. Or, how Tony thought of it, for the poor sod who had to face a room full of politicians and make them understand his arguments.

The poor sod would be him in a few minutes.

Nearly all of the seats were full. Alien invasions weren’t only a concern for the Sokovia Accords Council, it was a global catastrophe in the making and everyone wanted to be heard. And probably complicate things a lot.

Tony thoughtfully looked around and studied the tired faces. Their expressions ranged from resigned to full out ready to blow up something. Powder keg came to mind.

He had called Compton immediately after waking up, not waiting for later as usual to give her (an albeit edited) report about his... extraterrestrial negotiation. That had been two weeks ago. Loki had mentioned that he planned to call for Thor to come home to Asgard and would send him back as an official envoy to deliver the unhappy news personally and officially to the UN. Subsequently the UN had been in an emergency session behind closed doors nearly around the clock for days.

Nobody had even considered informing the public yet. A mass panic wasn’t something that would help anyone but the Chitauri.

Tony had been asked to show up today and he had a few guesses why. With his Tom Ford three piece suit and the orange glasses he felt like a Ferrari in the middle of a limousine convention.

There had been only a few and short shared dreams since that moment and frankly, Tony had an all new reason to want those invaders destroyed. They had cut short the honeymoon phase of his relationship with Loki on top of everything else.

It was morbidly amusing to see that Asgard, with Thor as the Ambassador, had been granted a guest section in the middle of the regular seats and he was the other person who stood out. His chair looked too small and the space they had given him seemed to be unable to contain Thor's personality.

Compton had been asked to preside over today’s shindig, most likely in the hopes of having someone who had the reputation to handle Tony in the driver’s seat. The Briton stood up and called for silence, waited with more patience than Tony would have had until everyone settled down.

“Thank you. Everyone in this room is aware that we have been informed by one of our extraterrestrial consultants that an invasion from space is imminent within the next six to twelve months. His royal Highness, Thor Odinson, the Crown Prince of Asgard has arrived two days ago with a similar warning. We have invited him and another guest, Dr. Anthony Stark, to join today’s session in order to answer some of our questions and to ask for their opinion. Thank you for your attendance.”

Thor stood up and offered a perfectly executed bow. His boisterous personality and booming voice made it easy to forget that he had been raised to be a king.

Compton returned the formal gesture. “We first encountered the Chitauri in 2006 at the Battle of New York. If I have to sum that up for somebody - please leave the room because if you have slept through that and still have not found the time to catch up you are not fit to offer your voice.”

Ouch. That was harsh. What the hell had these people put poor Barbara through for her to get this caustic? Suddenly Tony was even more happy that he had been spared attendance until now.

“The Chitauri are an artificially constructed and bred race under the command of someone who is only known as ‘The Other’. They do not have a home planet, instead they travel through the universe, one system after the other, destroy them, raize all resources they can find, integrate biological specimens into their genetic make up and then move on. They do not evolve, they do not colonize, they never parlay. They destroy. We might have to fight their entire force. It depends on their specific plan of attack.”

Tony was well aware of this information, he was more interested in Thor’s reaction to the presentation.

Compton took a sip of water and then continued. “They have four big motherships and one slightly smaller but very well defended command carrier. Each ship can house up to 70.000 drones, smaller battle cruisers and nearly countless foot soldiers. Is this correct, Your Highness?” she addressed Thor.

Thor nodded slowly, a deep furrow on his forehead. “Yes, indeed.”

“May I ask, if this is available information, why the battleship numbers and troop specifics weren’t included in the descriptions _you_ provided?” Compton was friendly and polite, but firm.

“Midgard has no space worthy ships and no long range weapons that would be able to counter the Chitauri. You will need Asgard and other allies to battle those and should concentrate on the part of the coming battle that will be within your powers. You have worthy and powerful warriors that will be able to defend earth and sea, you do not need to worry and spread yourself thin by contemplating space.”

“Thank you for clearing that up. You might not be familiar with how things work on Earth, but we prefer to be fully informed. Nevertheless, I respect your monarchs stance on the subject. Might I ask you to review the information we have gathered together on our own and offer your opinion about the accuracy, if you are not allowed to add additional data? ” Compton asked. “We would appreciate it.”

“This is allowed and it will be my pleasure.” Thor bowed again.

Tony slowly turned his head. Some of the Ambassadors were grimly nodding at Tony, mostly the ones who had been part of his personal Iron Man panel or those who were in Compton’s circle, which meant they knew who the unnamed consultant was.

Oh, Loki was one crafty strategist. The mortal genius doubted that the trickster had acted out of character for what the real Odin with his contempt for Midgard would have done, in fact Tony would take bets that Loki had shared _more_ information than Odin would have. But by indirectly pointing out the differences to Odin’s stance, Loki had established himself as a valuable source of information.

“A detailed and updated information package about the Chitauri can be found on the secure server. I want to go onto the next point of order. It’s why I asked Dr. Stark to join us today. He is one of the foremost experts on weapons and has battled the Chitauri in New York.”

Here it comes, thought Tony, and stood up to nod at the assembly.

Compton had her best poker face on when she turned to him fully. “We have to consolidate our resources and past conflicts have no weight compared to our fight for the survival of our planet and our race. Thus the UN Security Council has decided on various preventative measures to prepare for the coming invasion. One of them is offering clemency for Steven Grant Rogers and the team that followed him.”

Tony had difficulties keeping his expression placid despite having known that this would happen. The public would feel better and panic less when they thought that someone who had already beaten the invaders once would be at hand again. 

“All of us are aware of the internal difficulties the Avengers as a group have faced within the last years and we want to officially inquire if Iron Man will be once again part of the team under Captain Rogers’ leadership. This is not a step to be taken lightly, thus I have informed Dr. Stark beforehand about it.”

Tony could practically feel everyone’s eyes honing in on his face. Not only the public would desperately cling to the Captain America legend to quell their fears. “I’m only speaking for myself, you will have to ask The Vision and War Machine about their decisions. But my answer is No. No, I am sorry but I will not consent to work in a team under Captain America’s leadership.”

Tony took a few seconds to order his thoughts. He hadn’t prepared a lot for this because, in a way, he had been chewing on trying to disentangle himself from the Avengers since Siberia, emotionally and rationally. He new his arguments, now he had to present them concisely and calmly to the council.

“My reasons for not re-joining the team are twofold. Please let me voice them before offering me your opinion.”

The grumbling in the audience made the billionaire add this request. It was traditionally considered very bad form to interrupt a speaker in front of the UN Council, but with tempers running high, the panicked politicians weren’t eager to hear anything that went against their plans and wishes. Thor was nodding to him in a sign of respect and Tony appreciated the support.

“Mr. Rogers and his cohorts are invited back and their defense against the coming invasion is counted as community service to atone for their crimes but they will he held accountable, that is how I understood the compromise that has been reached. Now, I’m glad for every fighter against the Chitauri, we will certainly need them, but I am of the opinion that my inclusion in that particular team - the advantages don’t outweigh the pitfalls.

“To speak plainly, I don’t trust Mr. Rogers with my health. Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t expect him to harm me deliberately, but he has shown that I am not equal in his regard and, quite frankly, I don’t trust him to make rational decisions that impact me on the battlefield and I don’t trust my own reactions within such working conditions either. Any seasoned soldier will be able to tell you that this kind of backdrop disquiet alone can lead to mistakes when split-second decisions are needed.

“The second reason is partially connected to the first. To overcome that deep rooted distrust the Avengers would have to undergo a lot of group therapy and trust building exercises. This is time I simply do not have if I want to design and build the defenses we need. I would not have the time if everything was perfect either, come to think of it.

“I’m already cutting more than I want from time with my kid. You might remember that I was always of the opinion that the Chitauri will return and my plans and preparations need to be sped up now that we are living with a deadline. Only the knowledge that Jori will appreciate having an Earth to grow up on next year a lot more than time with me now is helping my bad conscience. I never wanted to perpetrate my own father’s behaviour! I’m living on four to five hours of sleep a night at the moment and I have cut back nearly completely on my projects for SI to the point where I only look at regular engineering projects to get give my brain some break from the heavy things. I simply don’t have time for the Avengers.” He stilled and waited for the storm to begin.

“You have worked with them before.” King T’challa stood, regal and proud.

Why was Tony not surprised that it was Wakanda speaking up first? Tony longed to slug him and wanted to point out that he had worked with T’Challa too and had learned not to count on him. He didn’t know what Rogers had told the young king about what went down in that bunker, but he wanted nothing to do with this man on a personal level. His opinion and loyalty were too easily swayed. It was bad enough that Tony couldn’t snub him politically.

Tony waited for a moment if T’Challa wanted to add something else, then voiced his rebuttal. “I feel that I can't trust that team to have my six anymore, I can’t state it more plainly than this. Doesn't mean that I won't work with all of them if it is needed, if a specific situation calls for it, but I can't put my health under their _permanent_ care. Rogers showed how much he thinks about me in terms of worthiness of his faith and regard. He betrayed me and I have no guarantee that he will not do the same again if he thinks he has _enough_ reason. His enough does not match my definition of enough.”

"Betrayed is a very harsh assessment," the young king scolded.

"But an accurate one. I know that the particulars about what is publically known as the Superhero Civil War are now available to every member of this council, with background information about the Winter Soldier and detailed timelines. Steve Rogers learned about the identity of the Winter Soldier and found information about his kills after the fall of SHIELD. About the hit on my parents and who was  most likely used to assassinate them. He told me himself in Siberia that he suspected. He kept it secret for _years_. If you ask yourself about his motivations for keeping silent? ”

Tony took another deep breath. "I am not a mind reader but his actions speak very loudly for themselves. It was not about sparing me pain. It was always, in every detail, about protecting James Buchanan Barnes. Rogers thought that I am the kind of person that would be irrationally angry and lash out against Barnes, no matter the mitigating circumstances. Please keep in mind that after SHIELD’s fall I was the one who bankrolled the Avengers and Mr. Rogers would have a hard time privately financing his search. He didn’t want to chance that I would cut the funding he needed. Those two reasons paint a much more likely scenario why he kept his mouth shut. And what is that but a betrayal?" Tony caught his breath and consciously relaxed the muscles in his fingers.

“Isn't that what you did? React violently?” asked T’Challa mildly, the challenge in his face clear for everyone in the room to see.

“I'm not proud of my loss of control, to repeat myself. But it was not out of a congenital defect of my character that I lashed out, it was because I found out about the death of my parents in the worst possible way and lost my temper due to shock; _that_ I fault Mr. Rogers for. It was entirely avoidable. I doubt a master tactician like Captain America believed that the information would stay buried forever, not with the Winter Soldier in play again. He should have thought of a way to tell me.

“Ask any mental health counselor what to do when delivering traumatic news, like the death of a parent, violent or natural. Here's the cliffnotes version: you should meet them accompanied by a person that is at least neutral but trusted, in a secure location. Violent reactions like lashing out at the messenger are common, as are breakdowns. You should make sure that they can't run off traumatised by holding them or making the friend hold them. Offer support, never raise your voice. Do any of these points match what my suit recorded in Siberia?”

Uncomfortable silence. The muscles in T’Challa’s cheek twitched.

_Oh yes, you asshole, chew on that._

The Wakandan king could preach about honor and a warrior’s creed until the cows came home. When push came to shove, and before it became clear that he was after the wrong man, the king had been more concerned with his selfish wishes for vengeance himself and he had had more time to temper his reaction to Barnes than a few measly minutes like Tony. What right did he have to sneer at Tony for losing his temper? Maybe T’Challa was now overcompensating for what he saw as a dishonorable action? Whatever it was, Tony did not appreciate the attitude.

Tony looked around the room. “No, this is certainly not how it went down in Siberia. Not at all. And I’m not baying for retribution now, am I? Though, I am still in therapy and still working through what happened and it will take me a lot more time to be at real peace with my past. I have progressed to a point where I have dissociated the person with the weapon that was used to brutally murder Howard and Maria Stark. I now fully blame HYDRA for their deaths. It took a lot of time to get there and wasn’t helped by my fury about being betrayed by someone who I once considered a friend. Both is not a loss that can be forgotten on demand and schedule. I still don’t want to be in the same room as Sergeant Barnes, it provokes too many deeply traumatic memories.”

When he closed his eyes, with the topic dragging memories to the surface, he could hear his mom's screams, could see her try to get out of the Winter Soldier's grip and the horrible sight of the fingers tightening around her graceful neck. Barnes’ face, the eyes staring emotionless at nothing.

"Dr. Stark, do you need a break?

Tony wrenched his eyes open and swallowed convulsively. He wanted to hit himself for showing such weakness to these people.

“No, I don’t want to drag this out further. I am sorry for my emotional outburst.”

Compton nodded. “It is understandable. Anyone else who wants to offer their opinion?”

King T’challa signaled that he was making way for someone else to speak up.

The representative from Singapore stood up. “The Avengers have proven to be a formidable force against the Chitauri once before. Never change a winning system, I say.”

Compton indicated that she wanted to speak and patiently waited for her turn. Yang-Ho wasn’t happy to give her the opportunity, he was repeating his declaration in as many variations as he could until he ran out of steam and had to make way.

“The team is already changed, as have the circumstances.” Compton’s cool eyes swept the room. “Bruce Banner is no longer available and other members have joined the Avengers, some retired. Ambassador Yang-Ho, an axe was also a perfectly serviceable tool to use in a war once upon a time but weapons and tactics evolve. Let us hear what Dr. Stark has in mind as an improvement before we decide if forcing cooperation is worth the repercussions.”

Most of the council members were now glaring at Yang-Ho and nodding their heads.

Well, Tony could guess that a lot of them weren’t as eager to welcome Steve Rogers back.  Let loose Captain America to cause more havoc, even if it would be the destruction of something they wanted to see in pieces, was as all nice and dandy, but nobody was eager to set back the clock as if nothing had happened in between the Battle of New York and today.

"I would also like to propose a break to calm down and get back into the appropriate mindset to listen to Dr. Stark’s plans and evaluate our options objectively. We will reconvene in one and a half hour. Thank you."

.-#-.

 

“Besmirching the character of former comrades who are not here to defend their honor is not creating the best of views on your person either. You are acting dishonorably.”

Tony recognized that deep voice easily after having to listen politely to it in the meeting hall. King T’Challa had timed his approach perfectly and had made use of his bodyguard squad and influence. It was quite a feat to arrange for this without any inconvenient bystanders when the building was teeming with busy people rushing around. Nobody else but them were in the short hallway that connected the restroom to the antérooms. Two beautifully deadly Dora Milaje members were guarding the the exit and T’Challa and Okoye had been waiting in the shadows for him to walk by.

“Point at one lie I told.”

T’Challa raised his chin. He cut an impressive figure. Young, handsome, and glowing with health and confidence. “The way something is presented matters as much as the content.”

“And deeds matter more than pretty words. At least to me, Your Majesty. I’m not a politician.” Nobody else might feel the ice that began to spread in his veins but Tony had become intimately familiar with the cold in Russia and unlike then he greeted that feeling like a friend, not a deadly enemy. “What someone has done matters to me a lot more. _As well as failure to render assistance to your ally_. I don’t think we have anything else to discuss.”

He turned to walk away, but T’Challa didn’t want to let him leave, his bodyguards closed formation to block all exits.

“You are exaggerating a minor injury to gain sympathy and support for your personal vendetta against Captain Rogers. It is a disgrace and I cannot let it stand.” The king took a few steps into Tony’s direction until he towered over the shorter man.

Tony would not try to defend himself to the implied accusation that the had manipulated evidence. “And you are basing your opinion on the word of one man?”

“Captain Rogers has been proven right about Sergeant Barnes.”

Tony wanted to shake him but that would lead to those lovely ladies making him one sorry genius. “You have attended Cambridge University, earned a degree, yes?"

“My father knew it was wise to expose his children to the outside world and have us experience the differences to Wakanda. The science though was not up to par, but since my stay was only nominally about acquiring a degree I did not mind as much.”

Not up to par. Such arrogance. Tony raised one eyebrow and spread his fingers mockingly. “Then you must have skipped a few lectures because you thought they would hold no valuable knowledge? I would hope for Wakanda that basic logical fallacies like, for example, syllogisms and false dichotomy are taught and warned against?”

T’Challa crossed his arms, the claw necklace shone ominously.

“Let me give you a boost,” Tony said softly. “When you draw a conclusion from two premises, one major, one minor. For example. Telling the truth is honorable. Steve Rogers was proven correct. Steve Rogers is honorable might be logical, but not accurate for his every action. And there are often more than two possible answers.”

Tony didn’t care that he might come across as condescending, but he would not let that…hypocritical garfield try to lecture him about responsibility and accountability.

If T’Challa got any tenser he would shatter where he stood. “The same rules apply to you too. You are not always correct either. ULTRON comes to mind.”

Of course. It would always be ULTRON when someone wanted to disparage Tony’s opinion.

“Have you never made a mistake? Are you now seeking council with people who are willing to give honest and _qualified_ advice when you are faced with a risky project? Because that is one thing I learned from the Ultron debacle, it’s the importance of peer review and not cutting corners. Because I can be wrong. Dr. Reed and Dr. Foster are qualified to make those calls, by education and intelligence both and have evaluated, for example, the project premise I’m about to present to the council. And both have given their go ahead. That’s how you science, King T’Challa.”

Tony was prepared to walk but then decided to add something. “I will forever feel deep regret  about ULTRON, but I will not have it destroy what makes me Tony Stark on top of the destruction it directly caused. I refuse to be static, I refuse to be content with the status quo and simply plant myself in one place that is already charted and declared safe. That’s not avoiding making a mistake, it is _stagantion_.”

‘We always learn,’ echoed softly in his head. Tony shoved aside thoughts of his lover and concentrated on T’Challa.

Maybe it was wishful thinking but he thought he saw something that looked like reluctant respect dawn in the younger man’s eyes.

Tony nodded, hinted at a polite bow and then swiftly turned to stride away.

“Ladies. I am neither a citizen of Wakanda, nor is this Wakandan territory. You have no right to detain me. Please let me pass,” he politely demanded.

They let him pass indeed, their faces blank masks. Tony didn’t turn around to see if they had followed orders or acted on their own volition.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 (and Tony's plans) tomorrow.
> 
> I am very torn about T'Challa. I would have loved for him to join the ranks of my favorites but - and I know that this is not a widespread opinion, but to me he looked like an immature priviledged rich kid. He did what he wanted, had no regard for his team (he even said so openly! Don't stand in my way) and his very human reaction to what happened to T'Chacka lasted most of the movie. The way he tore through that tunnel... no, I did not like that. And his 'let them come' WTF? he shoild be the first servant of his country and- ok. I have to stop here. What I do look forward to is the BP movie, I am in love - in love I say!- with the Doras and curious about what the writers did with Wakanda.


	16. Moon Struck (is more fun as a song)

Time to deliver the presentation of his life. Tony held his head high and walked confidently down to the middle of the room. He placed a Stark phone front up down on the floor before retreating behind the speaker dais once more. He could operate it with his spare. He didn’t want subpar visuals of the government crap diminishing the effects.

“The project I’m presenting to you is essentially a collaboration, the brainchild of a think tank. I want to stress that the concept does not hinge on the opinion of one individual alone. I have the permission of Dr. Reed Richards, Dr. Stephen Strange, Dr. Nathaniel Nabokov, Dr. Rodney Mckay, Dr. Jane Foster, and various other experts in pertinent fields to present this to the UN Security Council.

“Some of these Individuals are waiting in the antechamber to be called in if there are specific points you want clarification on. All of them have a high enough security clearance and have signed the appropriate NDA paperwork. My main collaborator is Dr. Jane Foster, a specialist in Astrophysics and it is her studies of the Einstein-Rosen-Bridge that made it possible for my project to have a chance at being finished in time. Dr. Nabokov is essential as well, but his contribution is not as closely connected to the core project.” Tony nodded at Compton. It still rankled that he had to start any unique project in a defensive stance. ULTRON would never be forgotten, the one foul apple that sullied everything.

“Would it help if Dr. Foster was allowed to present her contribution alongside your presentation?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Usher, please call in Dr. Jane Foster.”

It only took a few minutes until Jane was standing beside him, nearly vibrating in place with excitement.

A short command to the phone and everyone was staring at a high quality picture of Earth’s moon. Tony hid his smile at the dozens of double takes throughout the room. Then he zoomed in until the focus was on one of the smaller lunar craters. The rim sported what looked like big ass laser cannons, evenly spaced and they were connected to a complex in the middle of the crater. Tony smiled smugly.

“May I present to you: Project USAGI.”

“Have you gone _more_ mad?!?” one of the Ambassadors in the first row sputtered.

Tony didn’t react to the sea of aghast faces all around, but erased the scenery until only the complex and cannons were floating in the middle of the room. “I don’t want to go into the power of the weapons beyond pointing out that they would not function on Earth because they depend on the reduced gravity of the moon. When I’m finished designing them and adjusting them to the enemy ships they will be up to the task of defending the space within their reach with prejudice. The Chitauri carriers aren’t small, might I remind you?”

He zoomed out again and suddenly their home planet joined the projection and it became clear that the cannon battery had been planned for the dark side of the moon. Three other batteries joined the picture, situated nearer to the moon side that faced Earth. “We have learned the hard way that mind control is real. Impersonification by shape shifting is possible. Add those to the more traditional forms of infiltration like blackmail, hacking and insanity and you will agree with me that transforming our moon into a mini Death Star, something that can take chunks out of our own planet, is a really bad idea without extraordinary security measures.”

“No kidding,” Mulligan, Ross’ underling, coughed.

“Nor do I want to give anyone _ideas_. I fully plan to blow those invaders up, but I don’t want to win this war against aliens only to find myself faced with a wannabe dictator who uses my weapons to blackmail Earth.”

Lines cordoning off sections in the hologram showed the areas the cannons would be able to cover, the moon shielding the mother planet. At first the projection was static, then it began a simulation of a day’s rotation.

“Dr. Mckay is doing his best to design a planetary shield. And his best is very, very good, bordering on miraculous, but he can’t bend time. His ideas, if approved by this council, will be essential for dealing with future threats. We can’t always depend on the help of our allies to keep our skies secure. Space mines calibrated for targeting Chitauri machinery specifically are an additional option, unfortunately it would only help to thin the herd because going by precedent their commander would cheerfully sacrifice his own soldiers to clear the way.” Tony turned to Thor and smiled at him.

“Asgard has promised their help and we are relieved that the burden of defense isn’t ours alone, but I think I’m speaking for all of us in this room that we don’t want to always depend on them.”

Compton nodded. “I agree. But there is more to the choice of placement than this, isn’t there?”

“The Chitauri have one main objective beside conquering a planet. ‘The Other’ is their commander, but he is the servant of someone else. I will not name him, I have been reliably informed that he has a similar deal going on as Heimdall. Say his name and you risk drawing his attention. This being is considering himself deeply and madly in love with Death. I really don’t want to think too much about this kind of dysfunctional romance, and if it’s all in his crazy head alone, but he loves to give her presents. As one can assume with who he courts, that means corpses, the more the better, and jewelry in the form of special stones. The Tesseract was one of them.”

“With the Cosmic Cube on Midgard he would have come for you, sooner or later,” Thor added while everyone else was digesting the information. “The Man of Iron is well informed and has analyzed the Mad Titan’s behaviours correctly. There are no songs being openly sung, only near dawn and in whispers, about his exploits. Our bards don’t dare utter his name or tell about the destruction he leaves in his wake. The last time he tried to collect all the stones, early in my father’s rule, he was defeated at great cost and banned from the Nine Realms.”

Tony took over again. “We might be able to convince him that the Tesseract is kept on USAGI, forcing him into the crossfire of the cannons.”

“They really would not work on Earth?”

“No, they wouldn’t.” If push came to shove Tony could do something about the cannon’s limitations, but how stupid would he be to tell the hyenas?

The German Ambassador stood up. “That is all fine and dandy but how do you plan to get the materials up onto the moon’s dark side no less? Have you built a spaceship in your backyard?”

Ah, an intelligent question. Tony gestured for Jane Foster to take the stage. It was her turn on the hot seat.

“That’s my part of the project.” The petite female genius snatched the phone Tony was using to control the projection out of Tony’s hand. Her head was held high, her eyes shining with confidence and enthusiasm. The addlebrained, mostly lost in her own head scientist, transformed in front of her colleague into a very confident presenter.

“The subject that has fascinated me for many years is the theory behind the Einstein-Rosenberg bridge. Nearly instant teleportation, for those of you who are not interested in astrophysics. Asgard,” she beamed at Thor, “has managed to build one, the Bifrost. I was able to figure out what stymied my own research by looking at their bridge. USAGI, and I want to add that the name was not my idea, is a major factor for getting my bridge to work. You see, the control station has to be situated outside the main gravitational field of a planet.”

Jane went on to explain, competent but with toned down vocabulary that allowed everyone to grasp her ideas. No wonder she had succeeded in convincing investors into financing her research. It was an ugly truth, but pretty female scientists were nearly never taken seriously.

Tony’s mouth twitched. If Thor’s adoring gaze got any more intense pink hearts would begin to float upwards.

“Building our own Bifrost is impossible, but we can construct a miniature version that connects pre-chosen destinations within our planetary system, as long as the main hub is outside our atmosphere.”

One senator interrupted her without asking to be heard first. “Why the limitations, why not copy the Bifrost if you can.”

That was a can of worms Tony had hoped would not be peeked into, never mind opened.

Jane bit her lower lip.

Thor had stood up, his brows drawn together.

Tony stepped forward. “One of my arc reactors will power our bridge, it is powerful enough for the task, and I want to add that I will take any possible precautions to protect my technology from being copied or misused, it isn’t limited to the cannons. The original version of the bridge feeds on dark matter between dimensions and having two such bridges active at the same time would blow up our universe. Not something we want to chance. That’s the simplified explanation. Additionally,” he grimaced, “Asgard would smite us. If you think I’m exaggerating, ask the dwarfs of Svartalfheim.”

“Indeed! The Realm Eternal is situated at the top of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, for a reason. We protect the other Realms, which would be impossible if someone could send their troops into the heart of Asgard! Heimdall guards the Bifrost and has the farsight to control transportation. The dwarves betrayed us by using the secrets they learned when they helped to construct the Bifrost by daring to act against Bor, my grandfather.”

Having a debate about imperialism (and other fun concepts Earth’s nations would have something against when it was them on the losing side) would have to wait for another time. Preferably one where Odin’s golden son wasn’t present and they had found some technology against the spy in the sky.

Tony spoke up and demanded their attention by sheer force of personality. “The biggest hurdle at the moment is installing the anchor point for our intersystem bridge. Building a big enough spacecraft in my backyard would take too long, I’m sorry,” Tony grinned at the ambassador who had made the comment a little while back, “and it really, really pains me to say that the solution might be magical. Dr. Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme and another mage have given me their support.

“Now, before everyone get’s too excited and mired in treaty complications and future possibilities, I want to remind you that the moon is not just a rock that pretties up the sky at night. The moon is essential for life on Earth, it regulates the tides and acts as a magnet for preventing comets to hit our planet. Extensive mining, messing with the mass too much and other detrimental, but profitable ventures will lead to our extinction within years, not decades. I am not opposed to looking into ways to colonize Mars, but I don’t want to try it on the fly because my home planet is dying under my feet. I am willing to answer further questions after you had time to read through the detailed project file I have provided. Thank you for your attention and consideration.”

Of course everyone was too high on adrenaline to take the hint and do their research. The following hour was filled with debates mainly among the represetnatives, all of them pretty pointless, tiring, and headache inducing. Tony spent it sitting in his chair, operating the projection and answering question. But mainly by letting it wash over him while he was having fun with Jor, with Friday helping them by translating from speech into writing and back. If anyone asked he would tell them he was working.

Then one Ambassador, the one from Russia, demanded his full attention. “What do you expect to gain from this?”

“Not spending eternity as a part of some bug-zombie?” Tony threw the question back, the first words that came to his mind.

“You said it yourself, you don’t intend to lose. Afterward it will be your technology on unclaimed land, with you holding the key for anyone to reaching it easily! There are no applicable and fully developed treaties in place that govern the ownership of the moon. The moon treaty of 1984 is a joke!”

He had a point. For both of his arguments. No nation that had a space program had ratified that treaty, making it practically defunct. The first settlers of the USA had a similar concept, go west, claim what they perceived as ownerless land. In practice such a tactic would not get Tony far in 2016, if he wanted to ever set foot on Earth again afterward.

“I hope that I have proven that I’m too responsible to endanger my family, my company, and my friends by seceding from my planet. There’s currently no infrastructure up there and will not be for a good long time. Asking 300.000 and more people to emigrate to the moon is not an option. I’m not the politician here. Work out fair distribution of cost for financing the project, declare the bridge station neutral territory under the purview of the UN. Those are my ideas, but as I told you, not my purview for dealing with a territorial problem.” He reached for the chairs’ back to sit down again, but then snipped with his fingers, a bright false smile blooming on his face.

“But, since you’ve given me the idea: I would love to own a decently sized moon crater as a vacation spot and to build a lab on. Reduced gravity is fun to play with. How about it, I will not ask for any monetary compensation for my work, you’ll pay for the materials and I’ll get a plot of land of my own up there. No, really, thank you for the  great suggestion, Your Excellency!”

“Yes, thank you very much Igor, for that _splendid_ idea,” Compton sighed and then glared chidingly at Tony. “It is getting late and I am of the opinion that we need to calm down and sleep before any consensus can be reached about awarding property. Dr. Stark, if that was a serious inquiry?”

Tony nodded. Oh, yes, they could bet their last dime on him being serious.

“The Council will have to debate if it is possible at all, but we will keep it in mind. It might be a good option for you  - and Dr. Reed! - to experiment far away from civilisation. Any further discussions about our defense strategies will continue tomorrow behind closed doors again. Dr. Foster, Dr. Stark, please be ready to answer more questions if needed. Before I close the session for the day I want us to revisit if we should ask Dr. Stark to reconsider his stance of keeping Iron Man separate from Captain Rogers’ team, we did not reach any consensus.”

One Ambassador stood up. His identity alone granted him the silence of the room and the full attention of everyone.

Ivan Andreyev of Sokovia raised his chin, his eyes were blue daggers directed at Tony. “My fellow Ambassadors. My opinion about Anthony Stark is not a secret. But in the face of this-” he gestured in direction of the hologram, “and the threat we are facing, the one thought that is prevalent in my mind is what Steve Rogers could have cost us. I will never be able to forgive Dr. Stark, I loathe him and always will, but he seems to have learned from the ULTRON debacle and he is one of our foremost, maybe even our most talented weapons designer. Imagine our chances with him dead in a Siberian bunker. Because of Captain America's negligence. Let the captain have his modern version of the Howling Commandos, but I vote for keeping our version of Howard safely away from him.” He sat down again.

Being called a modern Howard was raising Tony’s hackles. Really, he was not a mere extension of his father's legacy! But the dominant thought in his head, when he saw nearly everyone in the room nodding their heads, was that he had won this round.

Thor must have taken the back exit and hurried to catch Tony because he was standing outside, waiting, when the mortal finally managed to get away from everyone who wanted a few words with him.

Before Tony could open his mouth for a friendly quip, he was snatched and pulled into a tight embrace and dragged into an empty sideroom. It was a good thing that Thor’s big bulging muscles and cape snuffed out sound because otherwise everyone would have heard Tony Stark yelp like a goosed teenager. It had to be the official day of ambushes and nobody had told Tony.

“Thor?!?” Tony croaked out. He could feel his feet leaving the floor, this was ridiculous, but not threatening. Thor was chuckling and appeared to be friendly, much less reserved than the last time they had seen each other.

“Brother!”

Tony’s mind went blank for a second. The embrace lessened and he could speak more freely, he only had to tilt his face to the side. “Eh. No. Nope. No magic shapeshifter here, just one very squishy human. Come on, Point Break, let me go?”

“You think I confused you with Loki?” Thor laughed loudly and after another friendly squeeze, finally let go of his captive.

Tony straightened his suit. “You called me brother.”

“You are my shieldbrother,” declared the thunder god and winked then he bent near to Tony’s ear and whispered. “He claimed you as his own. It is not easily detectable, I wondered from afar today, but I am very familiar with his magics. I know he is alive, because his personal mark upon you is _fresh._ This is a joyous day.”

“I’m going to kill him,” escaped Tony’s mouth.

“Welcome to the family,” commented Thor, and he patted him on the back.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be more Thor (and more Jori) in the next chapter, don't worry.
> 
> Note about chapter 15: Nobody has the authority to force someone (who is not a convict) to work with someone they consider dangerous. But they could have pressured Tony to reconsider by making him look like he was selfish. And to make it more clear (I blame my writing for not getting it across better) until the Chitauri arrive the Council mainly wants to use Cap like the Army did way back when, even with newly aquired muscles: as a salesman with his backup singers, this time he would sell sense of security and hope, not bonds. People are stupid, what is a city or two and a petty arguemtn between cap and iron man when they face the annihilation of their planet? The panicked sheep want the idea of Captain America. There would be enough voices who want Cap to be firmly restricted though, all around the world. People, like I said are stupid, but not THAT stupid. And they will watch and hope that this time he does not dissapoint them.


	17. Fire! (damn stupid heros)

"How much of what you're doing now on Asgard needs your special touch?"

Loki sighed, unhappy with the topic. "I have to get it right."

"Take it from someone who's been there, done it all in triplicate. Holding on to something beyond the point of reasonable price? All it does is eat you alive." He did respect this tenacity, neither man wanted all their effort to be for nothing because of some small unattended cog fucking up the machine. 

"Just-” Loki hesitated.

Tony finished the sentence for him, "a little bit longer?" 

"Yes. I have to make sure nobody can back out of their agreements. Not our allies and not Odin when he awakes," Loki explained. "A few more days..."

Tony nodded and changed the topic. “By the way, Thor guessed that you are not dead and I want to stress that it was not I who gave it away.”

Tonight they had changed their usual positions. Tony was sitting behind Loki, the mage’s back to his chest and the rest of him stretched out across the black pillows. One of Tony’s bent knees served as a flesh and bone armrest and Tony could feel strong fingers kneading the muscles of his thigh. A content cat came to mind.

“It’s so easy to forget that Point Break is self absorbed, not stupid.”

Tony had thought that Loki would show a stronger reaction than a fatalistic shoulder shrug. “If he wasn’t, do you honestly think he would have survived a few hundred years in my company?”

“Hmm. My theory was more in the lines of you both are hard to kill and nobody wanted to piss off your father. Aren’t you curious about why he guessed?” Tony pulled up the other knee as well so he cradled Loki completely between his legs.

They had finished their nightly Jor movie and the TV had faded out of sight without getting tuned to a new channel by either dreamer.

“We agreed that Thor has caught onto the fact that your new foster son is most likely my Jormungand.”

“Alter the ‘most likely’ into ‘definitely’. Thor might be perceptive but he is not subtle. He informed me today that he would love to visit. And present 'Jori' with the traditional Æsir practise sword and shield every high or  _ royal _ born is gifted with when they reach an age where they can hold the heft of a weapon.”

Loki froze and growled, the muscles tensing as if he would jump up any second. But it was more a ingrained reaction than an honest one. Truly pissed off Loki usually meant that things would get frozen and then shattered by the dozen and innocent geniuses who shared the dream should better search for cover.

“How dare he pretend that he is suddenly a dutiful uncle?! Where was this devotion when I begged him to help me find my children?!”

“You said his vow to defend ‘Jori’ was sincere?” Tony abandoned the stillness of a relaxed hug from behind, absentmindedly stroking Loki’s bare chest instead, then reached for Loki’s long hair. It wasn’t slicked back anymore but in a curly mass of disarray, which always delighted Tony but annoyed Loki. Tony grabbed two fistfulls, kneaded the strands none too gently so the trickster’s head bent back until their eyes could meet. Tony could understand how worried the protective father was. It wasn’t paranoia if there was someone out there who would harm their child.

“Which is one of the few reasons why I haven’t ended the fool! But his vows are not guarantees. For those who know Thor well it is exceedingly easy to distract him. It is impossible to go through the Thunderer, but he is often blinded by his own lightning and you can go around him instead.” Loki pressed the back of his head against Tony’s shoulder, his mouth a bitter, harsh line on his face.

“He added that it was unfortunate that he could not visit, and I quote, ‘unless all-seeing eyes hold no more malice’. That can mean Heimdall or Odin.”

“Or both of them. I knew he would insist that I make peace with Odin.”

A huge part of Tony balked at the mere idea of coexisting in a universe where Odin was not his enemy. He only had to remember Jor -  too thin, too young, and so scared - clinging to Tony, a complete stranger. Or the expression on Loki’s face when he made clear that Fenris died because of Odin’s cruelty.

The kneading fingers on Tony’s thigh  transformed into slow, calming strokes. Loki was staring straight ahead at nothing. It was anyones guess if the caresses were to sooth the mage or the mortal.

“Using such a negative word as malice to describe Odin’s feelings is progress, at least,” offered Tony.

“Maybe.”

It was nice to imagine Thor standing at their side against the All-Father, it would mitigate some of the public fallout. The Æsir loved their Crown Prince. But that was all that was, wishful imagination. Reality had the cruel tendency to stomp onto such dreams and then mock you for expecting anything different. Odin wasn’t only a complete psychopathic asshole of a father figure, he was also a shrewd politician and the hand that held Yggdrasil’s worlds in balance. Removing him violently would cause a lot of destruction for mostly personal satisfaction.

For long minutes Loki and Tony were content with each others company and mulling over their own thoughts.

“Thor was a real chatty cathy.”

“Hmm.” Loki undulated slightly against him in a way Tony had learned meant that he wanted Tony’s attention firmly back on himself. Which was no hardship. Night’s like this were a rare blessing and to be savored. Hot sex, talking about Jor while waiting for one of them to initiate another bout of sex - it was a nice alternative to refining their plans and heated discussions about things that might go wrong - and much better than politics.

“And you haven’t asked how he found out.”

Or what additional information the frighteningly concerned older brother had felt the need to share. In hindsight it had been both hilarious and irritating. The Care and Feeding of my (Slightly Insane) Brother by Thor Odinson, a How To guide. Which, if Tony considered the siblings’ relationship wasn’t bound to induce much confidence in Thor’s expertise. ‘He’s a morning person and I know that you are not, Tony:’ was useful information. ‘Do not feed him spicy meals, it does not agree with his digestion’ and ‘My brother has never liked visiting the public bathing houses.’ made it sound like Tony has taken in a Gremlin and not stumbled into a stable romantic relationship with a temperamental sorcerer. For a certain amount of stable.

“Why should it matter how he found out?  As long as he thinks that I’m simply hiding and he hasn’t also figured out that his beloved father isn’t sitting on the throne like he believes, it is not of much importance.” Loki yawned and sighed contently when Tony wrapped his arms firmly around his torso and used his legs to immobilise Loki’s own by interwinding them. It was mostly symbolic, Loki could always stand up from the throne and thus break the dream spell. Loki had to sit on the throne for the magic to work and the thing was very literal.

"Oh, but I think it is important. Anything you forgot to tell me, Snowflake?” Tony nipped at the ear that was nearest, let his teeth play with the outer shell. It was not as sensitive as the area behind but would work up Loki nicely. “Like, you know…” His fingers stroked across Loki’s chest like wiping a blackboard and then he curled one finger, used the nail to add a slight sting to the letters he was tracing on white skin. He finished the word with a flourish.

Instead of getting upset Loki arched into the touch, his eyes unnaturally bright in the darkened room. The mage caught the hand Tony had used, lifted it to Loki’s mouth. First there was a sharp bite then a rough tongue licking, spreading liquid coolness all over the captured digit.

Tony wasn’t even tempted to retreat, he watched on, his cheek pressed against Loki’s, as his fingers were guided back to the hairless chest, over the trickster’s heart. Green mist flared and spread along wet lines. Tony couldn’t look away from the display.

“I’m surprised he payed enough attention to mother’s teachings to spot my spell. You do not seem to be upset about my claim?”

Tony kept his breathing even and slow. A ring of biting warmth had appeared around his arc reactor as an answer to the magic under his hand and he wondered, if he could look at his chest now, would he see glowing runes etched into his skin?  

“Tell me, my dearest ant, in all the research you have done, to learn my language, my people’s history seen through the eyes of Midgard’s bards; I wonder, have you been as diligent about our wooing customs? You are acting as a parent to my child in my stead, you offered me your hearth to rest, your food to eat, and defended my honor. You offered to share your blankets with me.”

Instead of giving his answer at once, Tony maneuvered himself until he could share a long, heated kiss with Loki who met him halfway. “What you did, it was one of those magical vows. It would not have worked if we both weren’t on the same page. A mutual claim.”

“With the reciprocal part and magic missing, you could not have known for sure.”

Tony studied Loki’s face, paid attention to the faint imperfections like small scars, the slight misalignment of the nose bridge. Small, dot like scars around the mouth. Then threw one look at the flawless copy that sat outside reach on the armrest of the throne. He was so used to his Loki’s need for a projection to speak for him, that he had learned to ignore it. “Loki.”

Another kiss.

“Doesn’t mean that a guy want’s to be asked first. And yes, I was upset. I threatened to kill you, in fact.” After Thor had left Tony had remembered the principles of magecraft. And had called Strange for confirmation.

Loki laughed. A laugh that came from deep within his chest and had nothing in common with the wild and angry laughter that made hairs stand up on any listener’s body.

“Should I be worried that you see no problem with enthusiastically bedding someone you intend to kill later?”

“Petit morte, look it up, Buttercup,” murmured Tony and let his hand slip down his trickster’s body.

 

.-#-.

 

A week later they were all in a wait and see mood, Rhodey called it typical military ‘hurry up and wait’, and Tony had found some time to work on improving his armor. The delegates were still arguing over USAGI and he had pushed the project as far as he could.

The call came in when he was about to solder the last node -again.Tony bit back his irritation and took the call while still trying to pin that one rebellious wire into place. If he stopped now the tension would lessen on the whole line of soldered nodes and he would have to begin anew.

Fri wouldn’t let anyone reach him if it wasn’t important.

“Dr. Stark?” The voice was male, controlled and raspy. It sounded pretty distinctive, not someone Tony recognized, he would have remembered him.

“This is he.”

“Jonas Norton, Chief Commander of the West 125th street firehouse, we asked the Mayor and have permission to call you in. We’ve got a situation at 119 Street and Morningside and could really do with Iron Man’s help.”

Tony shut off his project and began to tug at his clothes on his way to the Iron Man assembly station. If he didn’t think he could help he could always abort. “Let’s hear it.”

“Original problem was an unattended cooking pot that caused a fire. Homeowner forgot the stove and went to work, looks like. Nobody caught it until it grew into an inferno. Old house, it caught fire like cinder. Building has been evacuated.”

Tony threw his pants aside and wriggled into his undersuit.

The Chief offered the information in a clipped, unhappy voice. “The fire has spread too much into the structure, we need to take that building down in a controlled way. It is listing to one side, we can’t get machinery into place quick enough, or place all the required explosive charges before it comes down wrong. If it falls - we’re looking at a pile of flaming dominoes.”

The suit assembled around him, the last panel was the face. One second of darkness and his HUD came online.

Tony wasn’t an engineer for nothing and even if it wasn’t his particular field of expertise, he had learned the basics way back when. “I sense some additional fuckuppery.”

“Our demolition specialist took a look-see when she calculated the payload. Someone fucked up the support beam’s composition, cut some corners during construction. And the building inspector didn’t catch it. The neighboring house, the one we might have used to prop up the other? It’s a twin to the burning one. It won’t hold.”

At least it wasn’t villains or aliens, but damn it. “On my way. Send me the blueprints and get me the demo-specialist on the line if she can spare the time.”

“Thanks Iron Man, the Mayor said not to worry about air security and Marty will be on in a sec, she’s our specialist.”

“Fri, tell Rhodey we have a code blue and please send a message to Compton.” Harlem was just around the corner, a bubbling, lively, and sometimes violent piece of New York.

Despite that, it wasn’t a joyride. Tony nevertheless did a small barrel roll when he saw kids pressing their noses against a window he flew past.

The Chief had been right, it was impossible to miss the spot. It was a big brick building, square and solid in appearance with at least two hundred apartments inside. Space was at a premium in New York which meant that there was only a narrow gap to the next house, which was indeed a mirror of the burning building.

Iron Man circled the block, assessed the situation. Whoever had thought it would be acceptable to use inferior material was most likely long dead, the houses had been built in the 50s of the last century, but Tony wanted to resurrect and shoot him. After healing from the destruction caused by the Chitauri invasion, the last thing New York needed was a few blocks of Harlem going up in smoke and that’s what would happen if both buildings pushed against their neighbours.

On the ground it was bedlam. The law enforcement officers and relief forces did their best to keep civilians away from the chaos for their own protection and to give the firemen room to work. To the side, shielded by police and EMTs, the shocked residents huddled together and watched their home burn. News crews, flashing lights, the fire - this would be on every news station in no time at all if it wasn’t already.

Friday pointed out the table with the chief of operations and he landed cleanly, retracted his face plate.

“Chief Norton?”

“That’s me, yes. Good to see you, Iron Man.” A big, muscular man nodded at him. “That’s Marty.”

“We spoke, briefly. What do you want me to do?” Tony stepped to the table and looked down on the old fashioned paper blueprints.

“You know your suit best. Any idea how to buy us forty minutes? Second building isn’t fully evacuated, some of the tenants refuse to leave. Idiots. If we have to, we’ll take it down as soon as it is empty at an angle to the burning one. They’d cancel each other out. Would be a huge hit to the community though. Better than a full set of dominoes but...” The ugly grimace on Norton’s face illustrated how that thought pained him.

Tony studied the available data, then turned to Marty, a petite mocha skinned woman with a military haircut and pointed at one detail. “That’s the faulty support beam? I scanned and the fault line, it tapers off two thirds up. Is this one stable?” He tapped on a transom.

She nodded and her smudgy finger followed the drawn lines on paper. Her gloves were shoved under her utility belt. “Yep. We’d have used it for propping.” She eyed his suit. “You gonna try pushing against? You’re gonna fit in the gap, unlike our heavy machinery.”

“I see no other possibility, other than trying to shoot at it and that would get messy. Do we have a sheet of steel so I can apply more force to a wider section of the wall?”

“Blasting it into bits would do no good. Too much wildly falling debris and not enough control. If ya need a steel panel, there’s a construction site four blocks to the north. I don’t think they’ll complain, this is threatening their project too.” Norton added. “Good luck.”

Time was of the essence so nobody wasted it on more polite phrases. Tony ignored all the eyes and cameras that followed him and flew first to the construction site, Friday calling ahead, and then into position with a steel plate attached with a magnetic lock on his shoulder. It made for uncomfortable flying but was preferable to an A-bomb any day of the week.

Iron Man wasn’t intended as domestic help and Tony wasn’t called for help often so this was new to him. Cleanup after an Avenger fight had a completely different vibe.

Getting the panel in place and fixated took a lot of swearing and creative soldiering with the fire escape as an impromptu clamp. His lasers got an unusual workout. Through the open phone line he could follow the discussions and updates from the ground. Spider-Man had shown up as well and was helping with the evacuation. The pay loads were in place and not too soon. His sensors showed him the forces working within the structure, unseen but ready to break loose any moment. He pressed his shoulder against the wall to counter it and fired up his boot repulsors.

“Iron Man. Can you hold it little bit longer? We found some runaway kids, hiding in the cellar. They used some old thermal blankets to isolate the room, it didn’t show up on our heat camera. They are caught behind a cave in.”

“Yes, I’ll try.”  _ Oh dear god, kids _ . Tony closed the line on his end, cursed viciously and pressed harder against the support with his shoulder. The building groaned. This was not how he had wanted to spend the evening! Pressed against some old boarding house and trying to keep it upright.

This wasn’t what Thor would call a glorious battle.

“Need some help?” A slate grey battle suit joined him.

“War Machine!” came the cry from the ground, echoed by Tony’s own ‘Rhodey!’.

Tony knew that, despite the situation, the smile on his face behind the faceplate had to go from ear to ear. Rhodey, flying again and at his side, it made him so happy.

“Help me prop up this wall?” Tony laughed and then groaned. He had cramped up in his focus to keep his position and his muscles had bunched up.

“War Machine, take the place directly beside me, then we will slowly slide apart to add some space in between. We need to keep the power distribution stable.”

Rhodey followed his instructions to the letter and the Iron Man suit’s sensors stopped blaring warning signs at Tony. It didn’t last long though. Gravity had chosen that building as her new bitch and fought them tooth and nail for possession.

Over the open line Rhodes and Tony witnessed the frantic efforts to clear the way to the trapped teenagers. The firemen fought against nature just as much as the the two men in their exo-suits.

Friday knew her creator very well, she had independently of any order connected to War Machine and was monitoring his health. Tony was growing progressively worried for his friend. The muscles in Rhodey’s back were working overtime.

“How much longer, Chief?” Tony called Norton. “We’re going to get squished up here.”

“Five minutes top.” Norton was short and tense and in the background other voices demanded his attention.

Tony eyed the power-output graph. Five minutes. “War Machine, meet me in the middle again and then get clear.”

“Negative, Iron Man.”

Tony switched to a private channel, so only Rhodey would be able to hear him. “Rhodes, don’t try to play martyr, we’ll need you healthy. War Machine hasn’t been adjusted to your new muscle tone, you’re going to damage your back further. You helped a lot already. I can hold it for a few minutes more if I redistribute some energy. It would not work for long term, but five minutes is possible.”

There was a moment of silence. “You swear you’re not endangering yourself?”

“No. If the house comes down I can punch through it and get clear. We’re high enough, I won’t get buried.”

“I hold you to that.”

They adjusted their places and Tony had Friday inform Norton. He had to concentrate. Rhodey wished him luck and then got to a safe distance. Friday gave Tony a countdown. His muscles screamed, heat slowly spread from his chest outwards and he gritted his teeth. His own biometrics told him that Extremis had jumped to a more active level, but was still in the green. He only had to hold out a little longer.

The steel plate pinged and began to curl toward Iron Man.

“Oh fuck…”

“You heroes are all the same!”

The angry growling voice did not belong here. Or had Tony damaged his air filtration without noticing and was suffering from hallucinations due to fume poisoning?

Tony turned his head.

No, there was a tall, dramatically clad sorcerer standing on the fire escape a little above Iron Man’s position, glaring poisonous green daggers at Tony. His hands were stretched out, pointed at the burning building.

“Get out of the way!” Loki snarled.

And Tony complied. He ignored the startled exclamations from the onlookers, ignited his boot repulsors and soared above, twisting in midair so he would not miss anything, never looking away from the mage for more than a second.

The building had been soaked by the firemen, as much as possible, and now ice was crawling across the side of the building. It was visibly fighting against the smoldering brick walls and burst windows. Finally everything was coated with a thick sheet of faintly glowing frozen water. Loki was sweating, his fingers trembling and his face was frozen in his own rictus of concentration.

“Anyone still inside?” His countdown had passed the five minutes mark and Friday reported that she could detect nobody in danger anymore.

“All clear,” Norton confirmed.

“Then ignite the bombs.”

“But-”

“He has only provided a stabilizing hull, he can’t freeze it solid. Water expands when frozen, he would tear the building apart without any control!”

Norton didn’t answer but he did not have to. Explosions speak louder than words. The building buckled, from the ground up, and slowly fell inside itself. The ice broke up and the glittering shards mingled with the dust and grime, adding a surreal quality to the destructive spectacle.

Tony hovered beside Loki, who was gazing down at the rubble, miffed and angry. Iron Man opened his face plate to beam at Loki.

“That was awesome!”

“You are an idiot! Do whatever heroic things you have to do here to finish this. I will meet you at home.” Loki glared and then teleported.

Tony grinned.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes, no Jori but lots of Loki and then Loki back on Earth ^^


	18. Defense measures (purely practical)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut ahead.

“Thank you, Your Excellency, I know this is-”

Compton’s stern voice cut Tony off mid-sentence. “Anthony, it might not have been planned, and if it was don’t ever admit to it, but this was a very positive way to reintroduce Loki to the New York populace. Keep him at the tower for now and we can forego any protective custody discussions. Give me two days to smooth things over.”

Tony’s sigh was one of relief. The prospect of not having to brave the public tomorrow was a welcome one. “I will do my best to keep him out of the public eye until you give us the go ahead.”

“Expect a very lengthy debrief, both of you. I’m looking forward to meeting the God of Mischief.”

That was the second time within ten minutes Tony got threatened with that promise. Ross had been a lot louder though and he would not wait as long, Tony would bet his tower on it.

“Yes, of course I will introduce you.”

They exchanged a few friendly words and then Tony was ready for the next point of his list of superhero chores.

Dealing with the aftermath of a call for help was something akin to Chinese water torture, especially the slow and boring aspects of tidying up a disaster scene after the fighting was over. It didn't matter if it was a huge man-made catastrophe or a more common urban disaster. It wasn't over simply because the immediate danger had passed.

Tony stomped back to the impromptu command center, every heavy step made him wince internally. His suit was many things, but graceful on the ground wasn’t one of them. Friday had worked overtime in the background and he could offer a holo-schematic of the destroyed house to the fire department chief. It was nicely 3D instead of the old fashioned plans on paper that had been spread out on a camping table. Best of all, it showed the up to date situation they were dealing with in another color superimposed over the blueprint.

He had only made the mistake of stepping out of and back into his armor for convenience sake once, years ago. It had been a similar scenario, he had needed his suit to act as a heavy lifter in places where the more conventional machinery hadn't been able to fit between exposed beams and busted slabs of concrete. It was uncomfortable enough that his face and hands were sooty, he did not want ash and sludge to attach themselves all over his body and then get inside his armor too. Tony shuddered.

The demolition specialist’s face, now liberally greased with soot and sweat like everyone else shuffling around on the scene, split into a tired but delighted grin. Instead of being intimidated by the futuristic means of delivery the woman began to poke at the glowing lines with her fingers, similar to what she had done earlier with the paper plans. No haptophobia, that one.

Tony looked around. All of them looked like they had crawled out of a coal mine.

Of course Tony would have much preferred to be home right now, but cleaning up the aftermath was essential to a hero’s work too and often required a personal touch. Considering the political climate and the public scrutiny, nowadays more than ever before.

The scans were showing the remains of the building in excruciating detail. The house hadn't come down as cleanly as they had planned. There were still hollows in the structure that nobody wanted to chance caving in on top of any firemen who tried to make sure that nothing would flare up again if left unattended.

Staying and making sure that nothing else could go wrong was something the Capsicle never seemed to grasp as something important or worthy of his attention. It wasn’t malicious on his side, Tony was sure about that, but Rogers wanted to get in, do his job, save the day and then go home. A tactic that was suited to the shock and awe glamour common to the Howling Commandos' missions, but less appropriate for the modern informational age. That attitude had always irked Tony but he had ignored it and compensated. More fool he.

Cleaning up the mess was now part of a successful mission too. The patience and single minded just-get-it-over-with attitude needed to get through such tedium wasn't something most people associated with Tony Stark. He would, if he could get away with it, more often than not send employees instead. Sometimes the situation was more suited to a personal touch which he then provided. Not happily, but he did it. People liked to forget that while Tony was infamous for avoiding activities he didn't like, and his fortune mostly allowed him to avoid hassle, research and development -scientific work!- was a good trainer for patience.

Tony ignored the circus outside the cordon of police as much as he could. The fire alone would have attracted press and news crews alike, but superhero (and even better, rumored supervillain) involvement guaranteed that they had turned out in full force and were directing their cameras and mics at the group at the table.

Tony foresaw another press conference in his near future, but he had begged, with extra wide and hopeful brown eyes, that the usual Harlem Fire Brigade speaker would deal with the hungry wolves for now. Someone would mention the surprise help by Norse God, but as long as it was only a rumor, he could hold off with an official statement and let the rumor mill and Compton do their job.

A public uproar was inevitable, but it would take a few hours to build.

"Fri, headcount at home?" he mumbled while helping the other engineers with calculating a good angle to cut down the upright eastern corner which still stubbornly refusing to give up.

"Colonel Rhodes has arrived at the tower ten minutes ago and is in the medbay getting a checkup by Dr. Cho. I've been asked to tell you that he hasn't been severely injured, minor bruising only. Dr. Cho wants to add that you shouldn’t linger at the scene for much longer either."

Tony held his breath-

"Mini-Boss and the entity I identified as Loki Odinson are in the penthouse, conversing. There's been a lot of hugging and other expressions of messy human emotions, but they have calmed down and lil bro is showing off his plants to his father now. Master Loki has been very polite to me, I want to add."

-and released it slowly and carefully. “That’s fine Fri, you deserve the respect. Keep watch over them, yes? I will be home before morning.”

“Of course!” Friday sounded miffed that Tony would ever assume otherwise.

That didn't sound like imminent departure to greener pastures. Tony hadn't wanted to think too much about what would happen after Loki abandoned his deception in Asgard and actually came to Earth. His nature made the trickster unpredictable and even if Tony found that aspect of Loki's personality intriguing, he had feared that the mage would simply collect the little barnacle and leave. It could of course still happen, but Tony had calculated that the first few hours would be the most dangerous. Their bonding in dreams was fine and good, but it was removed from reality, wasn’t it?

"Good news?" Kelly interrupted his musings and placed mugs full with steaming hot coffee on the table.

"Is one of them for me?" Tony begged shamelessly. Fri had already scanned the beverages and signaled that they were not contaminated with anything but beans that had been roasted too enthusiastically.

The older man grunted affirmatively and tiredly and claimed one coffee for himself. "You did the work with us, you deserve to drink our coffee."

Tony didn't have to be told twice, he eagerly drank some of the bitter brew. Bad taste, as expected, but strong. Very bad. But he appreciated the sentiment and made a mental note to send a few bags of the good stuff over to the fire department. "Yeah, good news. War Machine's OK, he hasn't re-injured his spine."

What many people didn’t understand or didn’t want to understand was that the pilots of Iron Man and War Machine weren’t passive passengers. The machines took their cues from the men inside, the harder human muscles worked, the harder the machine was working. It took a lot of practise to operate the armors correctly and to calibrate everything to translate timely and at optimum capacity. There were limits to both flesh and metal and a house the size and mass of a small mountain qualified.

“Colonel Rhodes is fine? Great!” Norton boomed.

All of the people who were milling around their improvised command center cheered and nodded.

"And the other guy? I thought... I mean. Isn't he..? Uhm. Without him that would have sucked monkey balls, but-" one of the younger fireman, less experienced and less jaded like her colleagues stuttered. She wasn't the only one who was interested, from the suddenly very focused attention that was directed towards Tony. It was obviously something everyone was wondering about.

"Remember the deal with the Archer, Hawkeye?" asked Tony and rubbed his nose to conceal his grimace.

Barton had originally been perceived by the public as one of the invasion force’s lieutenants. After the invasion it had been a tricky situation to create a positive public image for Hawkeye. It had been direly needed, after some angry agents who didn't care that he had been mind controlled slipped soundbites and video files to the press.

Chief Norton grumbled, Barton didn’t have many fan’s nowadays either, but then he nodded. "Mind whammy. Similar?"

"Not quite. Never asked for particulars, but there was heavy torture involved as an added bonus. We found out about that only recently." Tony kept it vague and let his grimace speak for him.

"Ouch, laddy. No wonder he isn't sure of his welcome here, guy looked like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs before he vamoosed."

"Don't expect him to become Mr. Congeniality, he earned his title as God of Mischief, and make no mistake, he's not evil at all," Tony cautioned, smiled and then winced. More because that had been an involuntary if honest mixed message and less because his own body was letting him know that he had overdone it a little bit himself.

Chief Norton shrugged his shoulders and gulped down more of his steaming coffee. "'s long as he isn't smashing up my city ever again. Laddy, should  _ you  _ still be here? You’re not looking too hot either and I've left my tin opener at home. You won’t appreciate the jaws of life we've got in the truck, we'll get you out but you're fancy suit will be ready for the trash heap afterwards."

"Not at 100% fighting form yet, but I'm not going to croak on you, don't worry. But it's better to clean this up properly and fast, then go home, instead of getting called out in a few hours again because the pile of bricks over there is repeating the stunt of its twin. You-" he addressed the demo expert. "were right, by the way. The other houses have the same structural fault. It's a minor miracle nothing happened sooner."

Moans all around.

"Amen." The gruff Chief scrutinized him with jaundiced eyes and then returned to the problem at hand. "You're an adult and have to know how much you can take. Back to work. So, if I understand this correctly, you could cut along these lines with one of your nifty lasers-" He pointed at a structure beam. "We'd be able to shove the pile further back and clear the way. That should deal with the worst and then you can go home. Not that we don't appreciate your help, but maybe the clowns over there will go away too. The Harlem fire department can use the good PR, but they are in the way. Everything is soaked and unlikely to flare up too badly and the ice was mighty helpful."

Tony checked his energy levels and nodded.

"Once more into the breach."

 

.-#-.

 

It was early in the morning, about 2 o'clock, but of course New York wasn’t dark and silent. The city that never sleeps wasn't a well known nickname for nothing. Windows and neon signs both battled with the stars for attention and the man made lights won.

Tony touched down on the disassemble platform without any difficulties and calmly walked and let his machines do the work of getting him out of his suit. If only his insides were matching his sure stride. His home was illuminated, but not as bright and eye-catching as some of the neighboring tower penthouses.

The lamps in his living room had been dimmed to a warm, barely there glow. Enough for Tony to not bump into furniture on his way to his bathroom and the spacious, heavenly shower with all those wonderful jets that would scrub him clean. He was on his way to the stairs, uncomfortable with the cooling sweat and dirt making his undersuit itch and thus distracted. At first Tony didn't actively take notice of the changes.

Tony paused with one foot at the first step and turned around for a more thorough inspection when his brain caught up to what his eyes had seen.

The additions weren't immediately obvious, or maybe it was more accurate to say that they appeared to have grown naturally as if Tony hadn't known that they were missing and now they felt so fitting that they didn't stand out.

Which was puzzling, on second thought, because softly glowing orbs that were emitting a warm orange light weren't something that usually adorned house plants, not even big potted trees that should be inside a conservatory and not a Stark owned Penthouse. The overgrown bonsai thing was a favorite of Jor though and held pride of place beside the sitting area. If the plant had grown outside it would have been perfect to offer shade against harsh sunlight. The tree also provided leaves and dirt, to the cleaning robot's enjoyment and Tony's grumbling disapproval.

The kid had hung his bromeliad at one of the artfully gnarled branches, still in the cobbled together transport cage. Tony had offered to create something better, but that had nearly made the kid cry, for reasons that escaped the inventor.  

Tony focused and then tilted his head and scrutinized the strange lamps. He counted about a dozen orbs that were the size of his fist. No, no cables. They were floating.

He turned slowly on his axis and concentrated on cataloguing the spacious room.

The stone plates in front of his fireplace had sprouted a big fur rug and it was not one of those kitschy bear things either. Whatever animal it had come from must have been damn big and with much longer rich brown fur than anything Tony had ever seen. PETA would have a collective heart attack if they ever saw a picture.

Tony’s own heart though was beating lighter than five minutes earlier and he chuckled. A few books with heavy leather covers had found their places in the inbuilt bookcases. They had formerly only housed a few nick-knacks the billionaire had found on his journeys. Miscellaneous stuff that had caught his attention.

He touched one of the orbs. Books and wild things, didn't it figure.

"Jor is asleep?" he asked.

"Deeply," Friday answered. "Lil'bro is knackered, emotions are _exhausting_."

With new energy in his steps he hurried up the stairs and to the door to the kid's room. The door had been left ajar. Tony stuck his head through to check for himself that everything was all right.

IronTeddy was keeping faithful watch on the side table, his glow had been turned down to a low setting, but it was bright enough that the shadowed figure of a sleeping child could be made out in the middle of the bed. Until tonight Jor had had the habit of sleeping curled up but now he had spread out.

Tony didn't even consider that Loki might have chosen one of the guestrooms on another level, he went straight for the master suite in search for his trickster.

This room was shrouded in darkness too, broken up by the light Tony was letting in through the door, and the bed held a sleeping figure. Tony licked his lips. Did it again and blindly fumbled for the magnetic locks of his undersuit.

“Evil,” Tony whispered hoarsely.

Loki moved slightly and snuffled in his sleep, his naked limbs gliding sinuously on fur. It was another one, even bigger and more luxurious than the rug in the living room. The little shit had draped it over Tony’s king sized bed and was now lying on it buck-naked and without a cover in sight. From where Tony was standing he had a glorious view of surprisingly delicate feet, long pale legs, an even paler well formed ass, deeper shadows only hinting at the curve of the back. That pert backside was one trickster feature their dream shenanigans hadn't revealed to Tony. One arm was outstretched, the other was clutching Tony’s favorite pillow.

 

Tony slipped out of the sleeves of his suit and absentmindedly scratched at an itchy spot on his chest. That made him halt in his haste to disrobe fully. Savage warrior cultures like the Vikings might glorify heroes fresh from the battlefield indulging in some fun, but Tony sincerely doubted that Loki had any love left for those traditions and Tony, staring at the exposed clean skin, was not counting himself among the savage horde. There were superior methods of messing up a bed and a partner than to dirty them with soot and old sweat.

His preferences aside, this was going to be one of the fastest showers in the history of modern bathrooms. In his haste to silently reach the door to his masterbath, and then the shower (without disturbing the sleeping Loki by turning on the light in the bedroom), Tony stumbled over a heap of used towels on the tiled floor. A pained yelp escaped him. His left foot had hit against something hard, most likely the edge of the sunken bathtub he never used. He bit back a curse, hopped on one foot to rub his abused big toe. Unwilling laughter bubbled up. Well, that took care of his hard on for a few minutes and probably woke up Loki as well.

Tony eyed the heap, his eyebrows climbing higher. Those were at least ten towels, what had Loki done in here? The painful pulsing in his toe was abating, he used it to poke the small cotton mountain. Damp, the air in the bathroom was humid as well, proof of lots of hot water getting used, and everything smelled like his favorite shower gel. On his voice command the light in the mirror switched on.

His suit joined the heap in short order and Tony whispered a command to Friday. She should  send a robot to clean up the mess, pronto.

It was indeed a hurried shower. Tony didn’t bother with a robe or a towel when he got out. He didn’t switch off the light in the bathroom, he wanted to see everything.

Loki’s was now facing the door, his eyes were half open, his lips a wicked curve. Still no sheet in sight.

Tony cleared his throat. "You do know that you don't have to lure me?"

On the bed Loki shifted slightly, lifted his head and inspected Tony shamelessly, his pupils growing until there was only a small brim of brilliant green left. It was criminally attractive.

"No, really. But points for effort." Tony placed one knee onto the mattress and bent down, he hadn’t been aware of walking over.

"I was wondering because you were making me wait." Loki purred, his voice a little raspy from sleep.

The fur was as silky as it had looked, but not to the point of unpractical. Unlike satin sheets it didn’t make Tony slip when he bent forward to seek a kiss.

He chuckled into Loki’s mouth and nibbled. Not only had the trickster nearly used up Tony’s custom mixed shower gel, Loki had found the toothpaste as well.

“Mmm. Minty fresh.” Tony took a second to comment and then hungrily went back to the offered delicacy. Loki growled back, toppled Tony over by pushing the arm aside Tony used to prop himself up and it started a sensual tussle. When they stilled again, more than a little bit out of breath, Tony found himself flat on his back, pressed down by a surprisingly heavy body.

Tony bucked up, moaned as his hard cock rubbed against an answering hardness. There was no give, the weight on him appeared unmovable.

Loki captures Tony’s wrists, dragged them upwards over their heads and held them there easily with one hand.

They lay nose to nose, Loki’s long and clean hair acting like a curtain, tickling Tony’s face. One slender finger traced the faint bruise that was blooming on Tony’s cheek. The mortal had seen and dismissed it as unimportant when looking into the mirror in the bathroom. He must have pressed to hard against his faceplate at one point. It would be gone by morning, but for now it was swollen and red.

“I should chain you to this bed,” Loki proclaimed.

Tony blinked.

“You would not be allowed to leave this room until you learn not to risk your neck needlessly!”

“I was never in any real danger today,” Tony stated and internally revised that fact when his lover’s eyes brightened with fury.

“You are mortal! I have finally found a worthy companion and I will not lose you to your own foolish heroism!”

At first Tony could only stare. Then his lips began to twitch.

“Do not dare make fun of me!” Loki raged but Tony knew, it was directed at the world around them, not himself.

“Snowflake, I am not easy to kill. Trust me. Many have tried, you among them.” Tony closed his eyes for a moment and relaxed, stretched, felt deep within his own body. When he opened them again - it was like flipping a switch made of fire. The next time he tugged against the iron hard ring of fingers that held him in place, he felt them give. Tony didn’t try to break free in earnest, only one hand escaped. All that delicious skin before his hungry eyes and no touching it? Not a chance in hell.

Loki glared, then kissed him like the world was about to end. It was more an assault than a caress, but nobody complained. Not when their lips began to sting, their cheek muscles cramped and their lungs were burning for air.

“I only bend when I feel like it,” Tony rasped, turned his head, and pressed his teeth against the side of Loki’s neck where he could feel the frantic pulse under his lips. Everything was so much more intense than in their dreams. “Just like you. When I break,...” he undulated, kneaded one firm asscheek and enjoyed how Loki reared up in response, “it’s only temporary.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” Loki snarled, still holding Tony mostly immobile underneath.

“Back at you!” Tony dared.

Loki flung back his hair, ratcheted up his glare, but at the same time his free hand had snaked into the small of Tony’s back, between the fur and skin. “I’m not a hero!”

Tony laughed wildly. “In truth, neither am I.” The fingers on his back were making his heart race, they were finding the tender spots left and right of his spine. Very few lovers had bothered to find them and now they were getting divine attention, were stroked slowly and mercilessly until Tony had to bit his lips or demand more.

“Bend for me?” Loki murmured in his ear and pushed Tony’s legs apart by spreading his own, the fingers, wet with something slippery, found their way unerringly deeper. Seems like magical lube didn’t only exist in dreamland.

Oh. Oh! Tony threw his head left and right, twisted the hand that was held over their heads , not to get free, but to intertwine his fingers with Loki’s. The other he used to pay his lover back in kind by wriggling between their undulating bodies and wrapping it around Loki’s cock.

He had thought that he had explored that pretty cock intimately and thoroughly. Oh how wrong he had been. Compared… it was like finally being able to touch without cloth in between. More details, more heat. So much more intense than their dreams. More reaction for his efforts as well.

Now it was Loki’s turn to moan and curse.

“Condom?” Tony bit out between clenched teeth. They would have many more times to explore each other thoroughly, now he wanted to  _ bend _ and be ridden. Hard.

“Excuse me?”

The only advantage Tony could see for dream sex was that it was very, very safe. But in the real world-

Tony twisted, cursed and stretched for the side table. It was too far away. “Protection against illness and pregnancy.”

Loki looked at him askance but he took the hint and used his longer reach to raid the drawer. Tony snatched them out of his fingers, stole a kiss that nearly made him forget what he needed to do, then opened one of the little packages and applied the condom one handed to Loki’s cock. Practise makes perfect.

“Mortals…” Loki commented, his nose wrinkled in distaste.

Tony tightened his grip and raised one eyebrow in challenge. “If you’re not up for it?”

Loki’s eyes narrowed, his lips slowly quirking just so.

Tony found out that challenging his Norse God about his manliness was a good way to spur his lover into action. Within minutes he was shown - thoroughly! - how little Loki let some strange human customs keep him from proving that he knew how to drive his lover nearly insane with pleasure. Not that Tony didn’t do his best to make sure that in the end it wasn’t only him who lost control and a satisfied mess.

Their lovemaking left Tony with exhaustion and pleasant soreness.

And a very smug, if equally tired Loki.

Afterwards, they lay spooned together, Tony playing the big spoon. Tony breathed deeply and nuzzled into the back of Loki’s neck. The hair there was extra soft. And the smell, fresh sweat, his soap, and something uniquely Loki, it made Tony smile.

“Should we put on some boxers?” Tony sleepily asked. “Friday would have warned us if the kid woke up-”

Loki hmmed. “I have created my own ward. I will never not know where Jormungand is. I have warded the whole building as well, from the basement to the highest rooftop. Soon no sorcerer will be able to invade our home in body or spirit.”

“Sounds like a big spell.” Tony yawned and snuggled closer. This was unfamiliar but nice in a strange way. With Loki he felt safe enough to share a bed, there was little danger of his lover trying to remove his arc reactor while he slept.

“I will need a few days to weave complex wards to fully secure our home, but I have laid the foundation that will power them. The size of the building is unusual for such a project. It would not have worked without the Lord of the Land’s consent. Within a week it will be able to withstand Odin.” Loki turned around and snatched the sheet from somewhere to cover them, Tony didn’t care from where exactly. Magic had some very nifty advantages, like cleaning them up.

Those wards though- During their shared dreams they had spent hours discussing magical theory whenever they had needed a break from the more practical problems. Most of it was inexplicable and drove Tony insane, but the intent behind most warding matrixes was fairly straightforward.

“How long do we have until Odin knocks on our door?” Tony examined the fading lovebites he had left on Loki’s collarbones.

“I called for Thor, informed him that ‘Odin’ needs a few days of Odinsleep, the All-Father should be as magically strong as possible for the coming battle. Thor is needed as Regent in the meantime. The real All-Father will wake up only after he has finished watching the message I left him. His reaction depends on how angry that will leave him. He can’t back out of the deals I made, Odin would lose face and credibility. Admitting that his misbegotten trickster son managed to usurp his throne? No, impossible.”

“You said days.” Tony reached out, traced his marks, his eyes seeking green ones. “How much stronger would our wards be if the sorcerer who anchored them submitted to the Lord of the Land in turn?”

“My clever mortal.” Loki resumed a similar position to the one he had tempted Tony with when he had first entered the bedroom, but this time he lay on his back. The sheet slithered out of the way, leading Tony’s gaze down with every bit of skin that got revealed. Loki stretched absolutely shamelessly, his thighs open, exposing the slowly filling cock and every other detail to Tony’s hungry gaze.

“I see, such a hardship it will be, such a sacrifice!” Tony said and laughed freely. They had played with each other enough so he knew that Loki didn’t care one iota about nonsensical preconceptions about the submitting partner being weaker. It was all magical.

“Friday if anyone, but Jor, asks or tries to reach us, tell them we are occupied with important defense measures. And don’t watch.”

 

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who wanted to see Loki's reunion with Jor: there will be a collection with outtakes added after this is finsihed, I'm working on them. 
> 
> Was Tony playing an avoidance game, trying to brace himself if Loki snatches Jor and leaves Earth? You can bet on it that his old self flaggelation issues were resurfacing but at the same time I wanted him to prepare for best case: buttering up the public, reminding them that he is not shirking his duty and that people can trust his judgement (even when it comes to dramaqueen aliens) is a nice side effect of helping out in a crisis.
> 
> The fur: will be better explained in the next chapter but I feel that I need to make a little disclaimer, I don't want people to get the wrong ideas. Personally I do not like fur. Not on my clothes and not in my home unless it is attached to the owner (my cats). But the characters aren't me and it fits the Viking theme. I don't expect people to agree, everyone is free to make up their own mind on the issue, but I am against waste, which means if leather/fur is a byproduct of needing to kill an animal for food and you get a warm coat or blanket as a bonus? It adds purpose to the ending of a life. Torturing and killing animals purely for their fur? Makes me angry like a hellcat.


	19. Labels (don't always fit)

Loki groaned and rotated his shoulders, rubbed his hand down his body and shook himself like he was getting rid of clingier things than simple water after a bath. “I really would be grateful to keep the shapeshifting into someone else to a minimum for the next months.” he grumbled and then reached for the soap, again.

Tony was standing at the sink, trimming his beard and trying, without much success, not to get distracted by the gorgeous god in his shower. Loki was giving him ample opportunity to observe, he had been in there so long that Tony was grateful he had an endless supply of hot water.And see-through shower walls.

Shapeshifting? His naughty brain promptly paraded a lot of hot scenarios in front of his inner eye and Tony put down his razor. The real life visuals fuelled his fantasy world, Loki’s tone of voice on the other hand did not.

He didn’t have to be a genius to guess why either, after remembering who Loki had to impersonate until yesterday. Tony tilted his head. Imagined spending two years in the skin of Obadiah and had to bit back bile.

_Yeah, no. Fuck, no!_

“No, I agree. If it isn’t an emergency and you need to hide, there’s no need to shift.” Tony flung the towel he had slung around his hips into the laundry basket and stepped into the shower again. Loki had found the brush Tony used to scrub machine oil from under his nails and was using it like a massage brush instead. The harsh bristles were leaving angry red streaks on his lover’s skin. Æsir and Frost Giants were hardier than humans and healed fast, no doubt, but that didn’t make them immune to pain.

Tony stepped closer, under the spray, pushed himself flat against Loki and reached for a washcloth that had been left wet and soapy on one of the tiled edges. He didn’t know what to say so he contented himself by carefully rubbing his hands all over the skin, washing away the otherness that seemed to unsettle Loki.

“Have you found the massage nozzles yet? I love them, they work much better than brushes. When do you think Jor will wake up? It is unusual for him to sleep this long. And maybe I should give a call to Mama Rhodes, if she’ll take pity on us and send some of her hand made waffles up. They are better than anything I’ve ever tasted.”

Loki silenced him with a kiss. When they came up for air again both men had calmed down.

“I take your word for it. Mrs. Rhodes? I met her yesterday when I arrived. She was standing guard over Jormungand.”

“Mama Rhodes is a force of nature, you should not underestimate her,” Tony warned.

Everyone had known that Loki would show up sooner or later and had been warned, thus it had not been a big issue. Had it been a real intruder instead his AI and everyone else would have reacted differently. “But Friday is the one you should fear, she is crazy protective of her lil bro.” And Tony had given her the means to defend their home and the occupants.

Loki shut off the water. “If it isn’t a hardship, might we forego the waffles? A simple fare would be pleasing enough.”

Tony nodded, pressed a swift kiss to Loki’s shoulder - he might get a crick in his neck, why did everyone have to be so damn tall? - and they exited the shower stall.

Both men silently enjoyed their breakfast. While unhurriedly sipping their coffee and tea respectively and nibbling on the prepared sandwiches they watched Jor play on the fur in front of the unlit fireplace. Small translucent animals were stalking through the fur Jor was combing into canyons and plains. They were hiding behind hairy walls and jumping over the lower ones - it was a game only Jor and Friday knew the rules to.

Tony had never seen the kid this lively. To his surprise, when Jor had woken up, he had hurried down the stair and joined the adults at the bar, instead of hurling himself at Loki, the boy had come to Tony for a cuddle first.

One that had lasted for a good few minutes before Jor had shuffled over to his own chair and began to demolish his bowl of cereals and an unreal amount of toast with butter and honey.

“You’re lucky I’m a billionaire. That thing would be too big for an ordinarily sized living room,”  Tony iddly commented, pointed at the rug and stretched languorously. It had also been unexpectedly comfortable, not too hot and not linty. There had not been pieces of fur in uncomfortable places in the morning. Tony strongly suspected magic at play because neither had they been too hot during the night and the fur had looked clean to boot in the morning.

“I don’t think I would want to encounter a living one. I bet it has long, sharp teeth and a taste for mortal flesh.”

“It’s a herbivore.” Loki licked his spoon clean and reached for the honey pot.

“But they have fearsome horns!” Jor had abandoned his game and ran over. “May I tell the story? I have heard it so many times!”

“Go ahead Jormungand, but do it correctly.”

“We need a fire in the hearth!” Jor demanded and Tony, guessing where this was going hopped off his chair and carried his coffeecup over to the fireplace. It was neatly stacked with wood, but where had he put the matches and some paper? It was summer, ordinary people didn’t think they needed to light a fire at mid Sunday morning.

Ordinary people weren’t Tony Stark who had a magical SO. Loki snapped his fingers and the fire roared up.

“Neat,” Tony commented but then hesitantly gestured to the fur rug and back at the nearby fire. “I hate to be the responsible one, but-?”

Loki stuck his nose up in the air disdainfully, but his smile revealed that the attitude was mostly for show. “What kind of mage do you think I am? No fire will ever destroy my possessions.”

Tony aimed to sit down in the loveseat, but Jor tugged at his shirt and insisted that he sat down on the fur instead.

“Father said to do it correctly!”

Jor waited until everyone was in place, then he sat straight, a nervously earnest look in his eyes.

 

_“The wyldebeast, with fang and claw_

_direwolves and dragon foe_

_young warriors, beware their might_

_don’t seek them out, and if you do_

_prepare to fight! Strike hard, strike true;_

_the bilgesnipe, the hoarfrost boars, proud gryphon raptors, nikle beasts!_

_when you kill one, alone and brave_

_as man return, as boy you leave;_

_this story every boy is told_

_at gatherings, at firepits_

_among the young, among the old…”_

 

The child recited the story with a clear voice. Tony pushed his coffee cup a safe distance away. Jori was too young to remember every word correctly and sometimes he haltered and searched for the next line. The adults listened patiently and then Loki began to move his long fingers slowly, in a weaving pattern.

The fire flared and parted and the flames began to take forms that corresponded to the story. Every protagonist was distinctive in their appearance, when they got introduced. They  pranced around the other flames and brandished their teensy tiny weapons. Why did it not surprise Tony to learn that Thor had been too boisterous to wait for the official hunting party to accompany them? That he had concvinced his three friends and his younger brother that it was a splendid idea to sneak away in the night and try to fight a gryphon all on his lonesome, with four other boys as his backup?

The story progressed to the epic fight between the beast that looked like the classical amalgam between lion and griffin, only on speed, and a teenager Thor. The beasts for the young Warriors Three were less elaborately described and then came Loki. Who had decided that an animal which was as big as a small truck, with wicked curved horns was what he wanted to fight. The other boys mocked him about not aiming for something more heroic, the Drøvtygger* was after all only preying on grass. Tony watched fascinated as the Thor figure laughed so hard that he had to hold his belly, his head thrown back and then he picked up a stone. Hurled it, with his strong arms giving it power, across the meadow onto the beast’s snout.

It might look comical, watching five boys run for their lives while a whirlwind of fur and very sharp horns was doing its beastly best to skewer them, but when it happened it must have been a nightmare. The boys weren’t doing too badly, after the first shock they took turns to distract the bull like creature. It was Loki who finally used his spear to cleanly pierce the heart and roll out of the way, a hairbreadth between the horns and the young trickster’s chest.

Tony felt sudden, visceral sympathy for Frigga. That woman had either not cared a lot or nearly died of heart attack every other week.

 

_“...now when they hunt and find a beast,_

_it’s right of first strike they can claim_

_And no one can deny their call_

_for the foe’s features_

_on their helmets shine.”_

 

Tony’s jaw hit the floor. “That ridiculous helmet?!?”

Loki sipped his tea, his other hand making another flame Drøvtygger appear and charge with lowered head at Tony.

Tony yelped and ducked.

Jor laughed and clapped his hands. “Thank you father! Did I do it right?”

“You did good,” Loki reassured.

“Father?” Jor nibbled on his lower lip.

“Yes, Jormungand?”

“I do not want to be a warrior when I grow up, I want to be a biologist, like Greg.”

Loki didn’t even hesitate. “Then that shall be your path. Who is Greg?”

“He’s great! We visited him twice and he said I had talent for handling plants.” Jor jumped up and, bursting with energy, skipped to the tree and reached up for his bromeliad. They were regaled with another story, this one without the bardic cadence, but with a lot more enthusiasm.

.-#-.

 

Of course their peace could not last, not even for one day. Thaddeus Ross insisted on speaking with them and refused to go away, apparently having decided that the grace period they had agreed about should be cut in half. And he wasn’t alone. Instead of half of the Army plus a few tanks and surface to air missiles, as Tony would have expected as one of the more volatile possibilities, Friday reported that he had Natasha Romanova with him.

The Army would have been preferable.

Tony asked the terrible duo to wait in the visitor’s lounge while the residents changed into something more formal than jeans and T-Shirts. He slipped into his business armor, Armani instead of Tom Ford today, he would not mourn this particular suit as much if thing went south. Loki had magiced up some of his court clothes. Nothing that looked too threatening but still alien enough to underscore that the tall figure in black and green had not been born on Earth.

“Where do you store the duds when you do not need them? I’ll start calling you Sailor Mischief. I can’t imagine you carrying around some huge bag. Full of clothes, furs, books, weapons…” Tony put in the cufflinks.

“I can’t conjure from nothingness, but I don’t need to. It is far preferable to prepare them beforehand and store my belongings in a pocket dimension to call them at will.” Loki raised his hands to his head and his fingers glistened wetly. He used them to slick back his hair.

A memory of another, similar view but completely different setting came to mind and made Tony whimper. He did not want to go down and greet Ross with the beginnings of a hard on, damn it. “You will have to explain this to me another time.”

They exited the elevator, shoulder to shoulder. One of the employees had provided a small, cold buffet on a side table and Ross was standing there, munching on finger food. That alone was a good sign that Thunderbolt didn’t plan on causing too much trouble.

Maybe he was returning the favor? Tony had invited a dangerous and deadly being to Earth and Ross was showing up with the Black Widow.

Romanova was back to pretending -badly, Tony wanted to add - that she was a harmless personal assistant. Clad in a pencil skirt, white blouse with some missing buttons and high heels she might have fooled him once upon a time. Back when he didn’t ask and didn’t care about the difference between the expensive escort look masquerading as respectable and real professional style. Not his proudest hour.

Now he mainly wondered how many weapons she had hidden on her body. Friday would be able to tell him, but what would it get him? Asking her to give them up or get out was out of the question, not when she could claim to be protection detail for Ross.

Of course the woman had landed on her feet. In his more vicious moments he wondered who on the council she had slept with and if Ross knew that dipping his quill in that poison would likely be the end of him as well.

“Secretary Ross, Agent Romanova,” Tony greeted. “I think both of you know Prince Loki of Asgard.”

Ross chewed and swallowed before responding. “Of course! Might I congratulate you _both_ on the successful mission yesterday? The Chief and the Mayor have been singing your praises. You managed to avert a true catastrophe. It would have cost a lot of lives and money if the buildings had crashed the block. Excuse me for-” he gestured at the table. “But I haven’t been able to get a bite in all day. The phone line has been running hot.”

“I can imagine and think nothing of it, that’s why I called for catering.”

Ross nodded. “Agent Romanova has returned from abroad and wanted to make sure you have recovered from your injury. I couldn’t deny such a heartfelt wish now, could I?”

Yes, the asshat wanted to stick it to Tony that he had to play nice for now.

“While you talk shop I will debrief His Highness. Ambassador Compton is in charge of the administrative issues but I thought I could personally give him a heads up.”

Tony did not buy the Mr. Nice act either.

“Mr Secretary. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day.” Loki smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes. Tony knew that he did not have to worry about him, after a few centuries dealing with court and his crazy family one vindictive former General should not get the better of Loki.

While Ross and Loki began to circle each other verbally, each of them trying to find a kink in the other man’s armor while smiling Tony was left to face his former team mate. He did not protest when Romanova put her deceptively slender hand on his arm and drew him further away into a corner that would give them more privacy.

The smile on her luscious lips held a slight tremble.

Tony’s eyebrows rose. If that was the way she wanted to play it? Fine by him. He carefully griped her wrist and pulled her hand away until she no longer touched him. “You have a new look. I don’t know about the blonde, but the cut is very fetching.”

“I only arrived back home at the compound three days ago and I needed the additional disguise before. But you are right, it is not me and I will change it back soon. I’m happy to see you so healthy. I was so sorry to hear that you got injured.”

Sorry to hear that he…? Romanova could be thankful that Tony had more self control than she might credit him with, because otherwise he would let Friday loose on her deceitful ass. Rogers was the one Tony resented most of his old team, but his AI had taken the Black Widow’s deception personally. It was a good thing, for Romanova, that Friday wasn’t responsible for the Compound anymore or the woman would never get another warm bath as long as she resided in the building.

“I heard that you were back, yes.” All of them: Rogers, Wilson, Barton, Maximoff, that ant-man guy and even Barnes in his own little personal freezer. Tony had deleted that notice with prejudice. Well, officially they were not his problem anymore. In reality though...

“I hoped- “ She bit her lip, without smudging her lipgloss and getting any of it on her teeth. “But the media makes it very clear that you have not gotten over what happened. I came to see if I could help you deal a little better. Steve was devastated when he heard that you were more injured than he thought. We all make mistakes, some of them have more consequences than others.”

Yeah, and Tony knew that she wasn’t talking about Rogers with her last sentence. He didn’t avoid her imploring gaze but he did not feel the need to say anything either.

“You are undermining the Avengers with your actions, can’t you see that? There’s a war coming and we are fighting amongst each other, this is unacceptable.”

Another pause. Before Siberia he would have felt the need to fill the void, to offer his views and defend his choices. Now he mostly tried to guess where this conversation would go next.

Romanova made herself smaller, made her lips tremble more. “Are you really that petty and egotistic that you endanger the world just to get a little revenge?”

Tony snorted. Did she really expect him to be that easily manipulated? He had seen better performances. “Tut, tut, you are beating a dead horse there, dear widow. My ego? It's not about my ego, severing ties with Rogers and his followers is basic survival instinct.”

“Your survival? You make it sound like we tried to harm you on purpose. Steve would never hurt you on purpose Tony! Stop lying to yourself to justify the wedge you have driven between us, stop being so selfish. Please.”

“Don’t use your own ethics as a baseline to draw conclusion about others. This is not about the so called Civil War. I have simply chosen my tactics to win and they do not include you or Captain America. I will protect Earth, make no mistake, not only for myself but for the chance at a future with people I love and trust.”

She abandoned the harmless act and drew herself up to her full height. “A future with _him_? Don’t you know that Loki is once again using you - using us! - to escape the enemies he has brought onto himself? Quit being dramatic and stop making everything about yourself. Come back to the team. You were not the only one to get hurt. It’s not one big conspiracy. You got into the crossfire because you did not listen and now you are crying foul. Grow up and try not to cut off your nose to spite your face.”

Tony refused to be intimidated, he met her glare for glare. This shit might have worked on him three months ago, but no more. “And again you are doing your best to shift the blame on me. Painting me a bad friend who has to be told that getting hurt was my own fault; Because I am too damaged as a person to catch onto it on my own. Someone who needs guidance to see the light. _From well meaning friends_. Guess what, my argument still stands. You are not my friend because your actions don’t match the label.”

Black Widow raised her chin. Tony stared back, unimpressed.

“And who defines your values nowadays? Him? Instead of the friends that were by your side for years?” Her glittering eyes darted to Loki and then back.

“I can make up my own mind. I don’t need someone else to tell me what to think, not anymore. Newsflash, I found my own brains again, I had enough time for that special scavenger hunt during my stay at the hospital. And while I was lying there, flat on my back, something clicked. You know, Pepper, Rhodey, and Compton, they kept telling me - some of them have for years! - that I was acting like an abuse victim who refuses to see how unhealthy their relationship was for them. My therapist used the same arguments but with fancy shrink language.”

Romanova scoffed and crossed her arms under her chest, making her breasts push up and nearly pop out of her blouse. Instead of desire Tony only felt disgust and like he needed to scrub himself down and the nailbrush started to look good.

“I didn’t believe them, because what was their word against, as you said, people who were heroes like Captain America. But, long nights, lots of pain - lots of time and nothing to tinker with and suddenly I remembered the basic rules of science for beginners. Always question everything, never let other’s do the thinking for you, not for anything. Because what would be the point of research and improvement if you are satisfied with the status quo, why would you try to improve if you don’t know what you are working with as the basis. We would still believe the Earth is flat that way.” Tony smiled mildly and sniped an invisible piece of fluff off his suit sleeve.

“One thing all the books, fiction and nonfiction alike, agree upon is that a true friend doesn’t need to see the other as a good person, or as someone who is objectively worthy of that honor; they are a friend because they like the other person and try to act in their best interest. Looking at the cold hard facts, none of you ever acted in mine. You labeled me a friend because it would be in _your own_ best interest.”

“You could help us so much, instead you are using your position as a rich tycoon to manipulate the public against us!”

Of course she ignored his words, what else was new? “No, I am using my position to keep myself and my family safe from you and other threats.”

“Your ego is so ugly.” She took another step in his direction, mouth half open and glistening wet. Out of training, out of instincts? Tony didn’t know and he didn’t care.

“My ego isn’t your playground anymore, of course you would call it ugly. Stop treating me like a mark.”

“Should I treat you instead like an agent would who encounters someone who is showing signs of being compromised? You will not like that,” she sneered.

Tony laughed in her face. “Let’s see, first you tried to act like a contrite friend, vulnerable and seeking help selflessly for others in need, then you tried to guilt me into doing your bidding, followed by trying to shake my confidence and offering yourself at the same time as a stable and familiar harbor. And now you are threatening me and mine. You are proving my hypothesis true.” He raised one eyebrow, sure that whatever she tried, Friday would be faster.

“Fool me once, little spider. Shame on me, fool me twice…”

“You and yours? The way you look at him- You are really letting that villain fuck you?” The last part was loud enough to reach the two other occupants of the room.

“Not that you need to know, but it is a mutual fucking,” Tony added and regretted it in the next second. He should not have let her provoke him, his personal relationship was too precious to be used in a war of words against the Widow. “Cheap shot, Romanova. Ross is an ass, but he is not a homophobic ass, " he murmured and then turned his back on her, dismissing her.

Loki was watching him come over, his face tilted slightly, his eyes flickering to the side and back to him, keeping track of the killer at his back.

“Did you get bitten by the spider?” Loki asked, a conspiratory look thrown at Ross.

Who chuckled? Was this a parallel universe? Ross had no sense of humor, nor was he playful.

“We had a bet going,” Loki explained.

“I only got a slight scratch. If we counted it like a game of sports instead of bait the assassin it would be 4:1 for me.” Tony played along. “Who won?”

“Mr. Secretary. I’m afraid I overestimated your survival instincts. Again.”

Tony didn’t know if he should be very afraid that Loki, inside half an hour, had managed to build a better rapport with Thaddeus Ross than Tony had in years.

“And what was the prize?” Tony dreaded that answer, but tried to not let it show on his face. It couldn't be much, but giving Ross an opening was dangerous.

Ross smirked. “That’s between Prince Loki and myself. I’m afraid that I have to go now, there is much to be done.

Loki and Tony silently watched the strange pair disappear in the elevator.

 

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first I thougth that I was too harsh with Natasha. Maybe she would be more subtle? Then I rewatched the Rushman scenes and nope - I might have overestimated her skills instead. Don't get me wrong, she might be a superb killer and gymnast, really good at playing the whore to seduce rich white business men all over the world. But she is crap at pretending to LIKE someone and she seems to be unable to hold back the poison. 
> 
> *Special thanks to the nice Norwegian reviewer who helped me with Loki's horned beast. The word depicts an animal that eats grass and has four stomachs. Not the mess it was before^^


	20. Old wounds (fresh pus)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Half a day later Compton called them at four o’clock in the morning and demanded that both Loki and Iron Man present themselves at the Headquarters of the UN. A magical problem had appeared and only Loki had the expertise to solve it. The men exchanged long looks and crawled out of their comfy bed. It was not as if they could say no, they were still on precarious ground and needed the official support.

One of the company drivers delivered the tense pair to UN headquarters. News at dark-o-something was never good news. A very nervous, twitchy looking aid was waiting for them at the side entrance and then ushered the two visitors swiftly through the building. The halls were clear, only a skeleton crew of guards was present at their stations and everyone was greeting them politely. Tony adjusted his wristwatch and scowled. He felt a hand touch him at the small of his back where it would not be immediately noticeable to anyone watching. He looked up at Loki.

“Feels like an ambush is waiting for us around the corner, don’t you agree?” Tony murmured.

“No unnecessary personnel that could get in the way, it’s early in the morning and I can see the security cameras focused on us.”

“They have reasons to fear me,” Loki answered back softly.

Tony nodded and altered his stride slightly, kept more of a space between them. Loki had a longer range when it came to hand to hand and would need more space to be effective.

It was troubling that yesterday, instead of a big press conference before the evening news, there had only been a short and succinct announcement that everything was under control and that nobody should panic. Originally Compton and Tony had planned it differently, information should have been offered to everyone to reassure the public that Loki was not, and had never really been an enemy, with video files and believable facts to support that proclamation.

The aid led them to some unassuming paneled double doors. The designation at the side identified it as conference room 12.

Tony took the lead and entered, his head held high. Inside he was greeted by the faces of at least twenty people who were already seated behind their assigned desks or standing guard at strategic points. A quick scan of the room had Tony take in every camera, technology, and every person that was present.

Compton was the only civilian who faced them standing. She was waiting in front, not behind her own desk, which was situated in the middle of other desks and tables that formed a semicircle. Six other Sokovia Accords Council members, three to each side side of the Briton were staring at Tony and Loki and none of them were smiling. One empty desk had been placed as an extension to the left and to the right three other tables were occupied by Captain America and nearly all members of his team.

It was an ambush, all right. Tony had not overlooked that all of the rogue Avengers had been allowed to appear in their battle getup which was such a faux pas, it wasn’t funny.

“Your Highness, Dr. Stark. Thank you for answering my call and joining us so promptly. I felt it was better to clear things up as soon as possible before misconceptions might sour a mutually profitable relationship between Earth and Prince Loki.”

“Good morning. Well, yes, I didn’t expect to be woken up at four in the morning, but I knew that you wouldn’t do it for no good reason, Your Excellency.” Tony inclined his head. Loki followed his example but kept silent. He had declared beforehand that since this was Tony’s playground, he would be content to have him lead.

“May I introduce you to my colleagues, Your Highness?” Compton addressed Loki directly.

“It would be my pleasure.” Loki’s deep voice effortlessly filled the room and Tony observed how Rogers’ scowl got more pronounced and how Romanova was letting her hands fall out of sight.

Did they honestly think they would get attacked? 

Compton rounded her desk and took her place at the head of the assembly. “I assume that Dr. Stark has informed you in detail about the function and purpose of this panel. To recap,  we are responsible for managing super natural defense forces on Earth. To my right we have Ambassadors Dr. Ruud, from Norway, Ambassador Mulligan from the USA, and Ambassador Professor Lauternbach from Germany. To my left we have Ambassador Dr. Andreyev from Sokovia, Ambassador David from Israel, and Princess Shuri from Wakanda. Normally six council members who fully have to agree on a course of action are needed, but due to the circumstances and your current place of residence, we felt it prudent to invite the representative from the USA to participate.”

Loki took two steps forward until he was standing alone and then he bowed formally. “I am honored to make your acquaintance. Before we speak further, please let me say my piece. I cannot regret that my scheming led to the defeat of the Chitauri, though in hindsight I wish I had found a less devastating way. I apologize for the destruction I caused to your world. The Man of Iron has shown me pictures of the aftermath.”

That was no lie, Tony had used the dream TV to show Loki how many people he had hurt, of all ages from children to old people, and what kind of deep resentment he would be up against on Earth. Tony observed how the politicians reacted to the trickster. He couldn’t read them much, the clearest emotion he identified was fear. They were masters of the craft of misdirection, representation and concealment or they would not have reached the positions they occupied.

Steve Rogers on the other hand was easier to read. The good Captain might be a master of lying to himself, but he had an honest face and at the moment it was sea-sawing between incredulity and vigilance. Maybe he had felt Tony’s eyes because he switched from watching Loki to staring at Tony. The wide blue pleading gaze seemed to drink him in and a hopeful smile bloomed on his lips. He suddenly winced.

Romanov must have kicked him in the ankle.

“We will discuss the Chitauri invasion at a later date. This is an emergency meeting for clearing up an accusation that has been brought to our attention.” Compton nodded at the group of glaring superheroes. “Agent Romanova has reported to her team leader, Mr. Rogers, that she suspects Dr. Stark of being under your mind control.”

“Oh for-” Tony exclaimed and then profusely apologized to the council, red in the face with shame for having lost his temper. “Sorry everyone but that is so much bull- ahem, just sorry.”

Loki’s mouth was twitching, his eyes dancing, when he looked back at him and Tony knew that he would have to bear a lot of teasing later. Tony had spent the car ride telling the proud  alien that on Earth it was considered very bad manners to lose your temper in front of dignitaries, no matter if you are a prince or a billionaire.

“I was astonished myself Dr. Stark, but you understand that we have to investigate, it would be devastating for us if it held any truth,” Ruud offered.

Tony counted the idiot brigade and found three missing. Barnes was logical, the cyborg soldier was still on ice, but Barton and Lang weren’t in attendance either, at least not visibly. It was very likely that Hawkeye had found a way to infiltrate the ceiling and was ready to indulge in shooting Tony and Loki to his heart’s content, if they gave him any reason. Lang? Ant-size was perfect to hide and it made Tony wish for a damn bug spray.

“How do you plan to make sure that I’m alone in my head and totally my genuine brilliant self? I highly object to hard hits on the head, cerebral recalibration or not, it might damage my brain. We don’t want that, do we?” Tony asked and enjoyed Roger’s eyebrows lowering in reprimand for his attitude.

Yesterday Romanova had accused him of letting himself be influenced. Tony knew who to blame for this travesty.

Mulligan snorted and relaxed. “Well, I can’t see a difference to your usual behaviour.”

Rogers stood up. “Your Excellencies, mind control can be very insidious. Clint Barton reports that he was not aware of not being himself. Tony’s bad manners aren’t evidence. Agent Romanova has known him for years, evaluated him for SHIELD and is well versed in the way his mind works. I trust her expertise, if she says that he is acting irrationally and suspects mind control, it is worth investigating.”

“Her word that I am mind controlled is why you made plans to have me eliminated?” Tony icily asked. Friday had just sent a heat impulse through the wristwatch and then displayed a very revealing recorded scene snippet on the inside of his sunglasses.

Loki grew tense and stepped closer to Tony, had his shoulder brush against Tony to cool the banked fury that smoldered inside Iron Man.

Everyone but the two lovers were shouting and trying to get their opinions heard until a loud bang resounded through the room. Compton realigned the heavy book she had smashed against the desktop and glared. “This is not a circus. Calm down. Now, Dr. Stark what prompted you to make such a heavy accusation?”

“The Avenger’s compound was designed by me.” Tony consciously tried to relax. For him this was another betrayal. He should be used to it by now. “When I donated the building and the property for the cause I informed this Council that I would not leave my personal AI in charge of running the household. I offered a more rudimentary program. It is present throughout the compound, but does not actively monitor the residents. Nevertheless, it starts recording when certain phrases in a certain tone of voice are uttered. Like, for example: ‘How do we best kill Stark?’”

Rogers pushed back his shoulders, regret mixed with resolve on his face. “It was only discussed as the last resort.”

“Mr. Rogers, deep trust in the word of your teammate is admirable, but I cannot condone that you do not seem to see a problem with making such unilateral decisions.” Compton took the reins back.

“I want to use this point to officially demand that program removed from our home, I do not like the intrusion and lack of privacy. The sentence has indeed been voiced, but it is completely out of context. We talked among us after the battle of New York, and everyone, Iron Man as well, agreed that we would rather be taken out by our own team than to enact atrocities as mind slaves. It is, as I said, a last resort only. And we brought the problem to your attention,” he added the last sentence hastily, as if it was an afterthought.

“Which is why you are not getting arrested for actively planning a murder! Still, it is frightening me a lot that you are basing your decisions on the word of one team member.”

”Our bond is based on trust. When the chips are down you do not have time to prevaricate, you have to act,” proclaimed Captain America and smiled indulgently down at the woman who had earned her title of Black Widow with the blood of people she betrayed.

Tony wanted to puke.

Compton looked from Rogers, to Romanov, Wilson, and lastly to Maximoff. Then back to Rogers. Her eyes narrowed.

Tony held his breath. That was one pissed off lady and a very smart one, a dangerous combination because if she had come to the same conclusions as himself-

“Order Mr. Barton and Mr. Lang to reveal themselves!” the Briton demanded fiercely.

“I beg your pardon?” Rogers reared back.

“You told me they were unavoidably detained and that you did not want to present full force of numbers anyways. It did not make a lot of sense to me, but suddenly I can see a very good reason for them being, let’s say, invisible. Call them.” Compton was pale around the nose and her nostrils were flaring.

Rogers was pleading with her with his eyes. “Madam, consider-”

“Now!” Compton didn’t raise her voice at all but from the look on Rogers’ face she might as well have slapped him.

Everyone was now staring at Rogers, but he was not giving an inch.

Tony was wavering between incredulous amusement about his former friend’s high handedness and vindictive pleasure that the people who allowed these ‘heroes’ back were now the direct recipients of Rogers’ special brand of planning.

“Your Excellency, maybe I can be of assistance?” Loki politely asked. He had remained standing while Compton battled the unmovable object named Rogers, his hands clasped behind his back and had calmly observed.

And Compton measured him with her cold gray eyes and then nodded. “If you would be so kind?”

“Madam!” Roger roared and was ignored.

Loki altered his stance and spread his fingers. Tony kept an eye on his former team members, ready to defend Loki if they even so much as twitched in direction of their weapons.

Before the mage could do anything Ant Man seemingly popped into existence, safely on the other side of the room. His hands were the air, in the universal gesture of giving up. “Sorry Cap,” he addressed Rogers and removed his headgear, “but I don’t know how his magic would mix with my suit.”

Something rattled above their heads, a panel slid aside and Hawkeye slid out, his bow at the ready despite his contorted body. Barton offered no words, he was gritting his teeth and glaring daggers at Loki.

Compton looked ready to shoot them all. “Join your comrades, there are enough chairs. This incident will be added as black marks to your files and have consequences. You will hand in a formally written apology to the council for this affront, you will never attempt to circumvent our authority ever again and you will compile a list of faults in this building’s security, discuss them in detail with our staff and offer yourselves in your free time to test the upgrades. This is the very last warning you will recieve. Be grateful that I don’t have you arrested! Am I understood?”

Romanova, Barton, Wilson, Lang and even Maximoff nodded.

Rogers, of course, tried again to bend the situation to his wishes. “Mad-”

Compton stared him down, one eyebrow raised in challenge.

Wilson whispered something into his leader’s ear.

“Your Excellency,” Rogers began again,“ we did not wish to offend, only to provide security. Loki is dangerous and unpredictable.”

“From my point of view? So are you.” Compton huffed. “It seems your service was not needed, thank you nonetheless, Prince Loki. Would you please sit down, you as well Dr. Stark, so we can get this over with. Usher, bring in the experts we called in to consult.”

“I like her,” Loki whispered, the noise of the chairs being moved disguising his words for everyone else in the room.

“You would,” Tony said back and felt his anger cool down with that bit of levity.

Tony licked his lips. The water bottles and glasses that had been prepared for them were on the side of the table Loki was sitting on. They waited for those mysterious experts to arrive and Loki snatched bottle, looked at the label, twisted the top and handed the beverage to Tony.

“Thank you.” Tony glanced once at the display of his wristwatch and then sipped. Oh, that felt good.

On the other side of the room Rogers was gaping.

The two experts came in: a short man that looked Asian and wore something that looked very monkish and Dr. Stephen Strange in all his Sorcerer Supreme splendor.

Compton had the two new arrivals stand in the middle of the room. “I want to stress that we have conducted relevant tests before this meeting. We do not like to work on hearsay, nor does this panel want to endanger anyone by forcing a confrontation without a threat assessment beforehand. Mr. Barton was not the only one who got controlled in 2006. We have asked some other victims to present themselves and Mr. Wong tested them and assured us that he would be able to spot outright control without an intense exam. He has watched Dr. Stark during his arrival at Headquarters and is of the opinion that Dr. Stark is not under anyone’s direct control. All that is left is to determine if there are hidden mind-manipulations.”

Tony waited for Rogers to open his big mouth but nothing happened. A slight growl made him abandon his focus and look to the side.

“Loki?” Tony whispered.

“I do not like a stranger messing with your head. The mind arts are complicated and dangerous. It is not like looking into the inside of a machine. A mind is not static and easily hurt,” Loki answered.

“Agreed,” came a placid comment from the middle of the room. Wong bowed to Loki. “I promise that I will only look closely, not cross the threshold.”

Good ears, or maybe enhanced in a way, Tony did not care, he did not like that the man was making that declaration to Loki, not himself, the one who would be examined.

Rogers’  Avengers were having a heated conversation among themselves as well. Maximoff had not moved or altered the death glare she was directing at Tony until now, but currently she was urgently waving her hands around to illustrate one of her arguments.

“Let’s get this over with.” Tony stood up and moved in front of Wong. “Anything special I need to do?”

“Don’t think too much,” Wong offered as advice which made Tony roll his eyes.

Really?

“Look into my eyes and relax.” Finally a man he didn’t need to look up to, but Tony would have prefered to meet him under different circumstances. This should be fast since Loki’s attempt at controlling him with the mind stone had failed. Tony tried his best not to fidget and sigh and behave like a toddler that had been sent into a corner for time out.

“I spot a tether in his mind but it is benign, but… there is heavy scarring. His mind has been invaded and twisted.”

“I knew it!” Roger roared and jumped over his desk.

Pandemonium. Tony snarled, his stomach heaving and he whirled around, honing in on Wanda Maximoff. Before he could do something he would not regret every movement suddenly felt like he was fighting inside molasses, not air.

“Everyone. Stop.”

Out of the corner of his eye Tony saw Strange curling his hands around something green but then his attention was snatched away. Strong hands, a little bit too cool to be human and with callouses he knew all too well framed Tony’s face.

Green eyes delved into his own until nothing existed but the color and the feeling of floating. Tony blinked halfway, unable to close his eyes fully. The impression of unnatural calm slowly lessened.

Tony shook himself and breathed deeply. Loki was still holding him, caressing his face. In front of the stunned occupants of the room.

Literally stunned because they were unable to move, with Tony, Wong, Loki and Strange being the exceptions.

“Who. Dared.” Loki trembled.

Tony opened his mouth and closed it again. Not that he wasn’t kind of charmed that his lover looked ready to eviscerate someone in Tony’s defense - and he had a strong suspicion who that someone might be - but nope. Better not. Good thing the strange valium spell was still in effect, one of them had to keep a cool head.

“Wanna know tha too.” Tony slured. “Soun’ drung?”

Loki let his hands sink away and Tony immediately missed them. He felt strange and they had been beacons to keep him focused.

“My spell will fade in a minute, do not be alarmed, Anthony. Mind rapists often leave behind a trap. When their meddling is discovered it snaps and encourages the mind of the victim to agonize itself into insanity. Luckily there was none of those to be found, but I could not risk it. I am sorry for not asking for consent.”

“Forgiven, totally forgiven, Snowflake.” Tony shuddered and rested his forehead on Loki’s chest, waiting for the world to come into proper focus again. “Uh. Strange?”

“I put everyone in… time out. We prepared the room with a  freezing spell beforehand in case Loki was less friendly than we wanted him to be. It did not work on him, interestingly, so the point is moot anyway. I will have to look why it failed later. Are you feeling better now?” Strange’s voice sounded near but Tony wasn’t able to turn to him.

“Once a physician, always a physician, hm? I felt worse after a binge and still was able to totally own a complicated assembly. Can you wake individuals, make them able to participate in solving this fuck up?”

“Anthony!” Loki was vibrating in place, his anger leashed but not lessened. He clearly had more violent methods of investigation in mind then mere talking.

“Thank you for making sure that I’m OK, but now it’s my turn to make sure this is cleared up. I won’t have them use you as an excuse to whitewash their own fuckery,” Tony whispered and breathed against the mage’s neck. Now, if the room would stop moving, that would be grreat.

It took another minute until Loki stepped back and Tony could assess the situation. The Ambassadors were in different stages of disarray, some of them half out of their seats, some frozen in the process of ducking under the desks. The Rogues would make a splendid heroic poster, all movement and action with Rogers in aggressive pose forward, Wanda with her hands alight with red mist and the others brandishing their weapons.

“Very interesting spell. And an even more interesting way of focusing the required energy to make it work. All of these people are aware what is going on, yes? If you don’t mind a suggestion,” Loki said and prowled around. “Shift the location parameters to around these… individuals only, it will cost you less concentration. They do not look like they are going to be open to reason.”

“Agreed.” Strange’s red coat swirled dramatically around him without any wind or movement.

Suddenly only Cap & Co were in suspension, everyone else was free - and a lot of them were about to fall on their faces. Green mist caught them and prevented broken noses and other accidents.

“Everyone, say thank you to the nice sorcerers for keeping us all safe and uninjured,” Tony snarked.

Compton coughed, rested one hand on the desk and sent a dampening stare in Tony’s direction. “Yes, thank you.”

The other ambassadors murmured their own responses, some did not sound like any expression of gratitude. Nobody protested about keeping the living statues, for now.

“I will take a wild guess and say that it is not Prince Loki that has messed with Dr. Stark. Mr. Wong, would you be so kind and elaborate on what you detected exactly, most importantly is the damage dangerous and can you tell who casued it?”

Wong looked like he had been on a calm walk in some zen garden, not in the middle of a strange fight. “Dr. Stark is free of any suggestive or pervasive magical influence.”

“Good!” Compton stated, her eyes firmly on the six living statues. “Please elaborate. You mentioned irregularities.”

“Mind spells have no label announcing the identity of the one responsible, but they all have a unique flavor and they always carry a marker for the emotion that led to their creation. Magic is deeply emotional in nature. The scarring is connected to Dr. Starks worst fears and prevents them from being processed properly. I cannot read his thoughts, I only see the location of the wound in his mind. It was maliciously done, full of rage and hate. There is something else, something very troubling...”

“Unfortunately I recognize it as well. The mind stone’s influence is distinctive, but it latched onto the scar, it did not directly cause the alterations.” Loki offered his opinion when Wong faltered.

“I concur with that assessment.” Wong bowed.

Compton knocked on her desk, demanded their full attention. “If you had a suspect and could examine their… flavor of magic, could you tell if they are the culprit?”

The list of canditates was very small. Ok, someone had to say it and yep, it was again Tony having the honor. Who in this room delighted in playing with minds and had always hated everything about Tony Stark, beginning with his name and openly stated that they would love to see him suffer? “For a prime suspect, direct your attention to Wanda Maximoff.”

The three sorcerers followed his suggestion and honed in on the woman. All three reared back at the same time, disgust on their faces. Loki returned to Tony’s side.

“She _reeks_ ,” was all he said.

“And I have her crazy fingerprints in my mind? Urgh.”

“I can offer you mind healing,” Wong said without turning around. “It is best done by someone unencumbered by emotional ties to the patient. Stephen, release all of them with the exception of Ms. Maximoff. Allow her to defend herself verbally, but keep her unable to move from the shoulders downward.”

“Done.”

Wong looked back over one shoulder. “Do not sound so beleaguered, Stephen. It is good practice.”

Of course Rogers used the returned command over his voice to protest loudly against all the unfair accusations that were heaped on poor Wanda’s innocent head. “Surely this was all before she saw reason and changed to our side, she helped us destroy ULTRON! She showed all of us our worst nightmares at one time. I did not know she got Tony too, but we are all fine and she is now a trusted member of my team.”

Wanda had tears freely running down her face. “He killed my parents! I wanted to see him dead, wanted to kill him, can you blame me? He is a monster.”

“A monster? You do not know what you are talking about, woman.” Loki sneered. “Do not try to lie to _me_. If you were near enough to place a spell of this power, precicion and magnitude, you were near enough to kill him. But you tortured him instead and considering the hate I sensed your magic tortured him a lot. Stirring up his fears so much? What did you want him to do? Commit suicide?”

Wanda was shaking even in the firm magical restraints.

“What did you want him to do?” Wong asked as well.

“Why do you let them torture her so, don’t you see how much she is suffering?” Rogers pleaded, but the other people on his team were white in the face and silent, not offering their voices in Maximoff’s defense. Barton was heaving, his eyes pressed close.

Strange stepped closer to them and pushed the Archer’s head between his knees. “Nobody is forcing her to say anything, but I would want an answer too. The Order does not suffer mind rapists to roam free. A sorcerer’s most sacred place, the one they draw their strength from, is their clear mind.”

“What did you want him to do?” The third time the question was spoken very softly by Loki again, but it rang in the room like a bell.

“To take the scepter, to destroy himself and everything he holds dear!” Maximoff howled, her eyes fever bright.

“Oh shit.” Tony moaned and swayed. The implications! 

Someone helped him to a chair. What a clusterfuck. He concentrated on breathing slowly and evenly, ignored the raised voices and angry bellows. People were arguing loudly, in different languages. He could feel Loki grip his shoulder, kneading the muscles and keeping Tony from curling up.

Wanda in his mind- His mind! Whenever he thought back to the invasion, to his penthouse, the scepter; in hindsight he had been so damn relieved that his arc had blocked the mind stone and now- Bile rose in his throat and Tony convulsively swallowed it back down.

Someone was calling his name.

Tony opened his eyes.

Steve Rogers was crouching in front of him, his blue eyes full of sorrow. “Tony.”

Tony licked his lips, his mouth tasted like something had died in there. Disgusting.

“Remove yourself!” Loki demanded harshly but was ignored.

“Tony, they will crucify her. People have finally calmed down about Sokovia, the scars are healing, but if this gets out-”

Yes, yes, they would want their pound of flesh. Not without reason, but all the good captain was seeing was a doe eyed damsel in distress.

“Tony-”

Loki growled again and Tony leaned against him. He felt so numb.

It wasn’t his lover’s voice that interfered though, it was a female Tony had never heard before. And she sounded pissed. “No. Back away. Or I will do it for you.”

Princess Shuri, graceful like a whip, was staring down at the pleading hero. “Are you trying to demand that we should not seek justice for the crimes she committed? And let someone else bear the full burden? Is that what I am hearing here? Because I will not stand for it. The victims deserve to know the truth.”

“No, you don’t understand. She, she made a mistake, she was just a girl and she was traumatized!”

Tony tiredly studied Rogers face. The bold jut of his chin and the soft curve of his mouth. Beautiful eyes and so much conviction and so much emotion. All heart.

“Ms. Maximoff is an adult, I have seen her birth date. And now she will be asked to face the consequences!” Shuri declared.

“Your Highness?” Loki interrupted them. “May I ask were Ambassador Compton is and if I could have a word with her.”

“No need, I am here. Mr. Rogers, your team needs you.” Compton dragged a chair alongside Tony’s and sat down after Rogers, with a last desperate glance at Tony, shuffled away. Princess Shuri followed him.

“Your Highness, you wanted to speak with me? I am sorry but I was distracted.” the Briton didn’t look so good either. Angry red splotches were decorating her cheeks and her normally impeccable hair was in slight disarray.

“You and me both. That was not how I expected this to go, not at all,” Tony threw in and could feel that the smile he tried to offer was more than a little bit crooked.

Loki held his position behind Tony. “I am not familiar with the _full_ background of this revelation. It will take time to unravel what else Maximoff might have twisted to her will. The Order of Kamar Taj will provide magical support. But is our presence here still needed?”

Compton scrutinized both of them in turn. “No. I can safely say that our original inquiry has been answered to our full satisfaction. Iron Man is not a member of Captain Americas’ team and apart from some questions for clarification at a later point in the investigation - I can’t see Dr. Stark, as one of her victims, getting too involved with discussions about Ms. Maximoffs future.”

A firm grip under his arm made Tony stand up. He shook his head, tried to get his bearing again.

Loki was speaking again. “Your Excellency, you promised us two days of privacy. I understand that circumstances outside your control interfered, but you will understand me as well when I say that I insist on the bargain being fulfilled on your side. Two days from now. Anthony will need rest and time to digest today's revelations. I will find a silent corner and teleport us home. May we be excused?”

“Of course.”

Tony did his best to  - well, how did the expression go? - look alive and let himself be led away.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said that I would deal with her ^^. What happens now with Wanda will be mentioned in another chapter, but not extensively.


	21. Mirror, Mirror (twisted)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: please read!  
> This chapter was hard for me to write. I did my best to treat carefully but it's a difficult subject. It deals with canon attempts of suicide and torture/torture aftermath. If this is a trigger for you, take care of yourself and skip it. I will provide a short summary in the end notes.

They arrived home- which, woah, what a rush, teleportation was cool and Tony resented that he was in no frame of mind to enjoy it or to try and analyze it. As soon as he felt like it Tony would pester Loki relentlessly, but for now they went back to bed. Loki declared that a healthy, deep rest was what Tony’s brain needed and Tony fully agreed.

Consequently they spent the next days being lazy. Played with Jor and helped him with his English skills. Sleept a lot. Took more showers than might be good for their skin but that's what body lotions was for and as an added bonus it was fun to apply. Nobody called and nobody tried to visit. None of them questioned who alerted the rest of the adult members of their household about what had went down at UN Headquarters, but nobody pestered them about it or asked questions.

Rhodey delivered homemade primavera pasta for lunch, cuddled Jor, and stared pointedly at Loki. Before leaving again, Rhodey snatched Tony and pulled him into a bear hug. “Tones, I’m so sorry. Those fuckers. Let me and Pepper deal with the public for now, you need some time to come to terms with… everything. I hope they throw her in a deep, dark hole and melt the key.”

His goatee scratch against the sweater Rhodey was wearing. Tony returned the embrace fiercely. This was someone who was as human as they came and who emphatically understood how violated Tony felt. Maximoff, maybe not even knowingly, had turned the one part of the genius against what he valued the most, his own thoughts.

Loki had offered to create a ward against future attacks of a similar nature, which was all well and good, but Tony hated having to rely on an outside source he did not understand yet to safeguard his mind.

Tony shut down every TV screen after watching Compton’s press conference. It was the one that should have happened yesterday. Nothing had been added, Maximoff was not mentioned at all. Friday would be on the lookout for anything dire or important enough to actually require his personal attention and for the first time in years he kept himself cut off from the outside.

After lunch Tony had his robots fetch one of his older projects from the main workroom, a new design for a car propulsion system that would hopefully one day replace the combustion engine. It was something that required a lot of concentration, but would not blow up in his face if he made a mistake. Pieces of metal, tools, rags, and schematics surrounded him on the floor and Jor was in the middle of the mess after Tony allowed him to help by handing him parts.

Jor was a perceptive little boy and knew that something was wrong, he was sticking to the adults like glue.

Loki was stretched out on the couch, keeping an eye on everything, an e-reader in his hand.

And now they waited for the other shoe to drop. Hell, Tony felt like he was waiting for a whole shoe cupboard crashing on his head any minute. They had Odin, Ross, the public, and the old team as contenders for the next problem to hit them. It was only a question of who would be the first.

In the evening, Jor had just gone to bed, Friday told Tony that Clint Barton was in the lobby of the tower, demanding to speak with Loki.

Tony looked at Loki. “What do you want to do?”

“I owe him.”

“Oh for… whatever. Friday, send him to the visitor’s lounge. And make sure he does not have any weapons or electronic recording devices.”

 

.-#-.

 

“I asked for Loki, not you!” Barton snarled immediately after coming out of the elevator.

Tony was not in the mood to take any shit from the always angry man. “Didn’t you get the memo? We’re a matched set now. Ask for one, get the other for free.”

No one even suggested that they should sit down, they were standing in the middle of the room in a Mexican standoff.

“Yeah, typically Loki. Always whoring himself to powerful protectors,” needled Barton, his eyes never let off staring at Loki. “Is Stark speaking for you, God of Lies? Or are you going to answer my question honestly, if you even know what that means.”

“Fucking hell Barton, who sent you over? Calling him a whore and me his sugar daddy, are you crazy? Do they want to get rid of you, because they know that your mouth might get you killed?” Tony was aghast. The archer had been brutally insulting with his words since before ULTRON, but this was another level of assholery altogether.

Loki shook his head at Tony, his lips a firm line. “Do not worry, his words mean nothing to me, he is like a wounded animal lashing out at everyone, at least against me he has valid reasons.” He looked at Barton. “Is this the boon you are calling in as compensation for wrongs done against you?”

Barton glowered. “It’s a miracle you are even admitting that you fucked me over. Truth and a favor of my choice later on, if your answers are worth this much, yeah. Are they?”

“I can’t say, this will be up to you to decide. My honesty for the next hour and an unspecified favor later, as long as neither my words now, nor the favor later imperil vows I have given to people under my protection.”

It took a few minutes until Barton had chewed on that. The man was practically vibrating in place. “Done.”

“You have my vow,” Loki proclaimed.

Tony saw no mist, but from the grimace on both men’s faces it had worked.

“My first question is for Stark and I include him in the bargain, since he is so eager to be joined at the hip to you.” Still, Barton did not look at Tony. “How can you stand looking at him, touching him? Nat was pretty clear that you are fucking. I was distracted at the time, but I have watched the tapes, you nearly puked when you learned what Maximoff did. How is he different? He is the same kind of rapist she is!”

Tony shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “No, he isn’t.”

“That’s what he told you? You are deluding yourself!” Spittle flew out of Barton’s mouth. He pointed at Loki repeatedly as if he was holding a knife, stabbing the mage with air instead of cold steel and Tony cringed.

“Bending other minds to her whims is Maximoff’s first and prefered method to deal with problems and she does not believe that she is doing anything wrong. You’ve been there on missions with her Barton, you know it. I myself have never thought about it much and I only saw the reports, but I should have and I’m beating myself up about it now. Place full of scared witnesses? Make them forget they saw you. Being surprised by enemies? Make one of them attack his comrades. Loki is not like that, for him it was the last resort and he did it unwillingly. If you hold a gun to someone’s head and make them rape a third person, I think we can agree that it is the one with the weapon who’s the real perpetrator.”

Tony shoved any thoughts about his own experiences with that concept away. He did not want to throw the Barnes issue into this, it would be too much.

Barton scoffed. “Yeah, I don’t buy his sob story. Poor tortured Loki, boo-hoo.”

“I had my mind assaulted and twisted against my will, I would never voluntarily do it to someone else. I was not myself during the invasion, this is truth,” Loki interfered. “I was not fully under The Other’s control either, truth as well. When I crawled out of that portal I had none of my own magic left, they had exhausted me fully, and my mind had been shattered and put together wrong. They installed their wishes as my own, and whenever I swerved too much, the hooks in my mind reeled me back. One sole, true foundation was left, the one that urged me to reach Asgard again and tell them that the Mad Titan was on the way and around that I kept my true self tethered. I do not love Asgard, like I did once, but I needed that goal to stay Loki and not become fully The Other’s creature.

“As long as I moved along approved paths I could do what I wanted. The invasion plans? Fully mine, but I tweaked them beyond what they looked like to my master. I could have had that portal open at one of the poles. No immediate victims but no opposition either. I gave you hints, I gave you time to react! The scepter was my weapon, but also my chain. It urged me to use the power of the stone to fulfill my mission and it filled the places where my own magic should have been.”

“See? Gun to his head.” Tony tried to give Loki a reprieve by drawing Clint’s attention back. He was not unaffected either, but it had to be worse for Loki.

But none of their words seemed to convince Barton. “You’re saying you had no other choice, that’s shit. Be a puppet or fuck others over on the way out? There was an alternative, but you did not have the guts to take it! No, you should have acted like any person with honor would and taken your own life instead of sacrificing the minds and lives of others! But that is never your nature, your own survival is what is most important to you, you selfish bastard!”

Now, wait a minute, telling someone that they should have killed themselves was beyond the pale. Tony wretched his hands out of his pockets. Before he could form words that went beyond expletives, then interfere and tell Barton to get lost, Loki was talking again.

“You think I would never do that.” Loki was trembling, nearly unnoticeable like a machine that would fly apart any second, and a vein in his cheek was pulsing. “Didn’t Thor tell you? I expected him to tell it to the universe at large, that I disgraced myself totally, that I let go. I did not fall, _I let go_!”

No, no. Thor had always been very circumspect and mournful whenever the topic of Loki and what led to the destruction of the Bifrost came up. But Tony had suspected. He had hoped that he was wrong, but it was not a surprise. To hear Loki admit to it was painful.

But it had served to shut up Barton for the moment. Maybe the man had some decency left. The Archer seemed to be frozen in place.

“I am a mage, Barton. The most sacred thing for a mage is our sense of self, even your mortal practitioners know this very well. Know thyself. If your Mr. Wong examines the little witch he will most likely find her mind twisted into itself and very rigid to support her views. For performing that level of foul mind magics she has to rewrite reality to fit her wishes or her spellwork would fail.”

Loki was breathing heavily and from where Tony was watching, unable to help, he could see the fingers curl and uncurl where Loki had clasped them behind his back. “When I fought Thor I was shattered, like the bridge, and I had nothing to anchor me and I did not want to lose myself further. I. Let. Go. But instead of nothingness I landed in a living nightmare.”

Tony leaned against the backside of the couch, bent forward, put his face in his hands and massaged his aching temples. If Barton opened his mouth and said one wrong word Tony would evaporate him with his repulsors.

“Maybe this is why Odin All-Father never approved of my studying the arcane arts. He knew that my foundation as a mage was one truth away from getting pulled out from under me.” Loki had turned his head away, talked more to himself than to his audience.

“You say I’m too much of a coward, that I should have rather died than let them mold me into their creature?” Loki’s jaw was working, relaxing and tensing repeatedly.

“Instead of doing their bidding, yes!” Barton answered but he wasn’t shouting anymore, just raising his voice above speaking level. “Steve was not lying, we all agreed that we would rather be dead. Stark did too!” The last part had more vehemence again and was directed at Tony, with a disgusted glare as a bonus.

“Barton, even if he tried to take that specific way out, I doubt he would have succeeded and I’m astonished that you do not seem to understand why.” Tony sighed and wished for a strong drink and a conversation where nobody wished someone else would have died. This was fucked up beyond all recognition. “If he was already in a state of mind that encouraged self destruction, he would have seen… _that_ as a valid way out instead of losing his mind to torture as well. He’s alive, what does that tell you? What makes you think that his wardens didn’t have him under strict supervision to prevent exactly such a sacrifice?

“Fuck man, we sat in the same ‘deal with torture’ lectures together. Fury made sure all members of his boyband, even the civilian ones, got the warning in full technicolor. And please don’t try to serve me crap, you were a part of a super shady spy agency, you know more about ways to deal with torture than I! ‘Take the last way out if you are sure that no rescue will arrive soon enough before you break; and do it before they suspect you to slip down that way’, that’s what Fury told us. But the most important thing: _everything is dependent on your torturer’s competency_!”

Loki didn’t comment on that, he was caught in his own head. “If I was a more accomplished sorcerer- without the mind stone and without my already shattered sense of self, I might have held out longer or come up with a better plan.”

“Don’t go there Lokes. You were right, you had to stay alive to warn us about the Mad Titan, you found a way.” Tony went to his side, ignoring the watchful Archer. “If you play the if only game, I will too and wasn’t it you who did their best to convince me that I was not at fault for other people’s cruelty?” And that had been one shared dream that had him try to stay awake 75 hours next, the only time in the last months he avoided going to bed, because he hadn’t wanted to revisit the topic. Hell. So much for that.

“I’ve been there, Snowflake. Three months in Afghanistan. Not as exotic as zombie land, but it nearly did me in all the same. It could have ended differently. I might have found another way out, with Yinsen alive; they might have used me until I dropped dead, my finished arc reactor helping them take over the world. If they had found the right angle they might have bent me into a mindshape that would have given them my creativity combined with their ideology. It didn’t happen, I managed to trick them, you did the same with The Other. Don’t go back there. Please.”

_Stay here in the present._

“Shit, where’s the heavy stuff Stark, I need a drink,” Barton cursed, looked around. He crossed the room and began opening and closing doors in the bar area.

“Right upper cabinet. Double the whiskey for me,” Tony automatically replied.

“No.” Loki unfroze, snatched Tony’s chin and glared at him. “Don’t. Alcohol will not help, it weakens your mind and it is already fighting against the wound Maximoff caused.”

Tony angrily turned his head away.

Barton stared at the bottle in his hand and put it back with more force than strictly necessary.

“What about my mind. Did you - oh, pardon! - your fucking stick, shred it too?”

“Yes, it did. But it should have healed by now.”

“Check.” demanded the Archer, slammed the cabinet door shut and stepped in front of Loki. “Do it now! I need to know and I don’t want to wait for Wong, he’s occupied with Maximoff. And I want to know if Wanda played with my mind too. I thought she didn’t, but we’ve been wrong about what exactly she did to Stark too. Only check, and nothing further, swear it! It will count as my favor.”

“Your thirst for vows is off putting, little Hawk. Tony, here is some water.”

“Don’t call me that!!!”

Water was a unsatisfying alternative to the bite of a hard drink Tony craved, but it would have to serve. Tony did not watch what went on with the other two men, he slowly sipped and stared out of the window. Concentrated on the gleaming moon in the night sky and worked on the plans for the load delivery system of his cannons.

In the background Loki was giving a fuming Barton a blandly worded summary of what he had detected. Wanda had kept her glowy fingers away from the Archer’s brain, but the original wound had festered.

“What helped you heal?” Barton demanded roughly.

That was a question, even more so than the one about the torture, Loki clearly did not want to answer from the way he was scowling. He hesitated a long time before speaking. “Long months of calm and isolation, no stress. In a way both my foster parents helped me. Frigga was a healer. She gave me teas and books that calmed my mind. Odin-” Loki sneered. “I doubt it was his intention, but a prolonged stay in a bland cell without visitors helped a lot. I am stable now, but I will never be the same I was before my fall.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re still an overdramatic arsehole.” Clint left without a look back.

.-#-.

 

Tony sank down onto the bed, ready to go to sleep. “The next bastard who dares to disturb us will be set on fire. I mean, more hassle and you’ll wish you’d be back on Asgard.”

Loki turned around, a brush in his hand and his brows drawn tight over his nose. “Certainly not. Do not ever joke about it. I did not like the talk with the Hawk and I do not want to repeat my words, ever, but it is one more hurdle cleared.”

“Sorry, you know I’m always running my mouth when I am stressed.” Tony scratched over the scar tissue that surrounded his arc reactor.

The brush, Tony followed every stroke like he was hypnotised, was dragged through the curly wet hair. “You know that he was here as a mission, not purely for his own benefit?” Loki asked.

“I suspected, but he had no bugs on him. His report style is atrocious, they won’t be happy.” Barton’s questions hadn’t been out of character but a little bit too pointed. Tony would take bets that the council was very twitchy, after having enjoyed a front seat on a demonstration of how insidious mind powers could be. The last thing they would want was working with an even more powerful sorcerer than Maximoff without double checking his intentions and history.

“It was a spell, cleverly crafted. To give credit where credit is due. It was a nice test of my wards. I allowed it to keep working. The Hawk is a better operative than the Spider. He is much more flexible in his methods and can change track when acting. He was a very good... minion.”

“If you tell him that, he will go back to wanting your head on a pike.” Living in a world where spells were just as likely to intrude on him as technology was something he would need more time to get used to. Tony shuffled up on his knees and reached for the brush. “Come on, let me do this for you.”

“I am not a maiden!” Loki protested but sat down on the bed and held still while Tony slowly and carefully detangled his lover’s hair.

It was soothing, the repetitive motion and the turned down lights. Tony kept it up long after there was no more rational reason to do so.

“Do you want me to return the favor?”

“With my short hair?” Tony chuckled and set the brush on the nightstand. Cool hands snatched him by the hips and he was unceremoniously dragged back into the middle of the bed.

“I was thinking of a proper massage.”

And Tony did not get the vibe that Loki meant his prostate. “My front or the back?”

“Front. Your scars are bothering you, I have a salve that will help smooth the tissue.” Loki helped him stretch out on the fur, carefully positioned a cushion under Tony’s neck and upper back so he was comfortable. Then he slung one leg over and kneeled, his backside brushing against the mortal’s thighs.

Loki retrieved a clay pot seemingly out of nowhere and sat it aside. “Relax. I know what I am doing."

Well, he hoped he didn’t have the same expression on his face as people who Tony said those words to in the past. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Loki, it was more the memories it brought up. He laughed and reached out to rest one hand on his lover’s hip and gave himself over to Loki’s care.

Tony sniffed, smelled something herbal and faintly sweet. The salve heated fast and tingled a little bit, but it felt good, better for the clever calloused fingers that applied it in slow circles. Sometimes the touch was feather light, other times the fingers dug in and wretched surprised moans from Tony. Loki was a Viking warrior of old through and through in this regard, he was interested in the scars, not appalled or disgusted. He paid them close attention but did not neglect the healthy musculature.

His own fingers were mirroring the pressure he felt on his chest on Loki’s hip without straying from their place.

“Mmm.”

Loki smiled. “Go to sleep Anthony.”

And Tony did.

TBC

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Tony is still dazed and hurt, trying to come to terms with what Wanda really did to him and made him do in turn. Loki is doing his best to take care of him. Barton comes to the tower and demands to talk with Loki in his typical antagonistic way. He asks what the difference between Loki and Wanda is and why they should trust Loki. Tony tells him that Loki would not use mind rape as his preferred tool, he was forced into it himself and suicide was not a way out, and not out of selfishness either, something the Archer accuses him of. Clint and Loki come to an understanding: the situtation was not ideal but there was no malice on Loki's part, Clints gets some advice on how to deal with getting on a more even keel again. Loki later reveals that Barton had a surveilance spell on him, the council (feeling threatened after the Wanda debacle and asking themselves the same question: what is the difference) wanted to make sure that Loki had not fooled them and he let them observe on purpose. In the end Loki and Tony don't talk much about it, they prefer to seek comfort in each others company instead.
> 
> Note: Wanda and what happens to her will be mentioned later. If it didn't come out clearly in the chapter, the council is still debating and analysing how and what she is responsible for.


	22. Relax (and paperwork)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fluff, I think my poor boys deserve some down time.

Tony snuggled deeper into his pillow and curled up to get away from the persistent sunrays disturbing his sleep. He wasn’t awake enough to insist on Friday darkening the windows and he did not want to slip further into wakefulness. Mornings that allowed him to indulge like this way were rare; laying in bed, halfway between sleep and fully awake and with the sun already up. Normally, if his body wasn’t complaining, his brain would scream at him to be up, up, up and bombard him with at least three ideas at the same time that needed to be investigated _right now_. But this morning the only slight discomfort came from muscles well used, with the afterglow dampening the soreness into spice that reminded him why it was so good to be alive.

Company would make this morning perfect but unfortunately Thor had been right, Loki seemed to be allergic to rest as soon as the sun peeked over the horizon.

Tony rolled onto his back and yawned.

Will wonders never cease? They had actually gotten five whole days of peace. And by thinking ‘they’ Tony mostly meant his close friends who lived in Stark Tower. For the rest of the world it had been tumultuous four days. Earth’s human citizens had found a better reason to be afraid than one (officially labeled) repentant God of Mischief resurfacing. To absolutely no one's surprise someone had leaked that the planet was facing another invasion and the public had reacted badly. Some countries had to come down harsher on their populace than others to prevent riots, but the governments of the world and the UN had managed to calm down everyone, but the most radical fractions by downplaying the threat level and directing the public interest to the return of Captain America and his team.

Which nevertheless got a lot of people pissed off and ready to storm the streets, but for a different reason and prompted another big  press conference with all the, now former, rogues standing behind Compton while she gave a big speech. What it boiled down to was basically: ‘Cap & Co were bad, bad boys, and one very bad girl, and we won’t let them rampage around unchecked ever again. Their punishment is fighting the evil aliens, but with us in command. It’s going to be the same ones that trashed New York, we beat them once, remember? This time we are forewarned and have more super heroes to fight them. There’s no reason to panic.’

Maximoff was mentioned as little as possible in the media, nobody wanted to pur gasoline into the fire. A coldly furious Ambassador Compton called the tower and explained that Wong had sent for reinforcement to try and detangle actual facts from ‘the world according to Wanda’.

Another important small but very important fact that wasn't voiced was that no matter the agreement between the UN (and separately the US) and Team Cap, victims had the right to sue the idiots and countries were free to declare them persona non grata within their borders unless on an official UN mission. Tony was deliriously happy that it was not his (and his legal team's) headache anymore.

The PR efforts hadn’t worked perfectly, people were understandably afraid and irrational, but Tony counted the reveal as a success, because no one had started a war or, heaven forbid, reached for the big red button and it did look like that attitude would prevail.

Loki had been binge watching TV, slouched on the couch, amused with how the Midgardians had ran around like chickens with their heads cut off; then how they  began to wail and gnash their teeth and generally made a lot of noise. Tony had observed him, his Starkpad providing him with a filtered version of powerplays between the nations and tidbits that did not reach the news channels.

Tony sighed, a faint smile plalying on his lips while he remembered a conversation he had with Loki yesterday.

_“Snowflake, that grin is slightly creepy, it would give the average observer an ulcer. You are practically glowing. Is there anything to the rumors about beings like you siphoning energy out of the element they represent? The chaos out there must be delicious, if that’s the case.”_

_Loki had shaken his head and denied it. “No, that is superstition. You don’t have a throne to channel such energies into power like Asgard.”_

_“You know, it’s a bad thing that people are so panicked and afraid for their lives,” Tony pointed out._

_“Yes, and I am not amused by their suffering, I am simply astonished how much they are letting themselves be placated and led. It is kind of...adorable.”_

_Tony had sat down on the armrest of the couch, reminiscent of his favorite position when he had debated with Loki in their dreams. “And, let me guess, a) you think about how, if you really wanted to take over the planet, you could manage within a year with not much bloodshed simply by hoodwinking those sheep into loving you; and b) that afterward you would be bored to tears within a week when you had to govern and make sure that those same adorable, but dumb sheep do not fall off the next cliff?”_

_That had led to Loki slowly sitting up, a predatory look in his eyes, a very bright grin that made Tony’s breath catch and his trousers get tight. Followed by a romp between the sheets; because Loki really loved it when Tony analysed his thoughts correctly._

Which led him back to the thought that he would really have loved not waking up alone in the bed; Or nearly alone, because the weight making it dip to the side was not enough to be his trickster-

But then, who, if not Loki was moving next to him? Jor maybe?

Tony opened his eyes. And instinctively reared away, over the edge of the bed and landed on the floor, only clad in colorful boxershorts with a pretty heavy fur blanket gliding after him and now resting on top of him.

“What the-?”

A frightened screech assaulted his ears and then something jumped onto his covered back and then scrabbled away, from the direction of the noise it was now under his bed.

“Boss, he’s not a threat!”

“Ok?” Tony disentangled himself, shoved the fur aside. His position on the floor made it easy to bend a little further and take a careful look.

Wide reptilian amber eyes looked back at him.

“Jor!” The eyes were unmistakable even in this form and miniatures of the one he had communicated with weeks ago in that underwater cave under Jan Mayen.

“You nearly gave me a heart attack, kiddo. Wow, look at you!” At the moment there wasn’t much to see, but the parts that were not shrouded in darkness were impressive. All Tony’s human eyes could perceive was a pearly white snout, formed more like that of a velociraptor than a snake.

Jor meeped. He had the teeth resembling one of those predators as well.

Tony held out his arms in invitation. “I was just surprised, come on, let me have a better look? Is this your serpent form?” A less happy thought floated to the surface. “Are you stuck again, or injured? Nobody should have been able to curse you inside the tower, not with Loki’s wards.”

Jor slowly slithered in his direction. In this form the kid had the mass of a labrador dog, but distributed to a long sinuous body. He easily fitted under the bed and didn’t resemble the monstrous form the World Serpent in the myths was said to have.

“You are cute. If it is an accident your father will be able to help you easily, don’t worry.”

The amber eyes narrowed with the word cute. A pouting serpent, who would have thought it possible? Jor had a wedge shaped skull and when he was no longer hindered by the bed, he raised it like a cobra. Bone ridges with small but sharp looking points ran from behind his eyes to halfway down the body and the underside of his body was wider than the upper half and flat, tapered off to a long tail. Everything was covered by shiny white scales. The most apt comparison that came to Tony’s mind was that of a Chinese dragon without legs.

Man and kid stared at each other. Jor was shuddering and swishing his tail.

“Are you cold Jor? Did you transform on accident and then join me on the bed because you need warming up? Friday, any idea? Where is Loki?” The scaly snout was shoved into Tony’s outstretched hand and he took the hint and began to pet him. The scales weren’t slimy at all, but soft and warm.

“Everything is alright, Boss, no reason to get agitated. Jor wanted to show you his other form.”

Tony was still puzzling over how he should pick up the kid like this without hurting him when Jor took the decision away by starting to climb his body until he was draped over Tony’s shoulders.

Then he was a little boy again, clinging to Tony and grinning from ear to ear.

“Friday was correct, you do not care that I can transform into a serpent! You do not think me a monster!”

Tony opened his mouth, closed it and then tried again. “Well, of course not! What gave you that idea?”

But Jor wasn’t listening any longer. He had already switched back to serpent and after a fast snake-hug by tightening his coils and a bump to Tony’s cheek with his snout he slithered out of the room at an impressive speed and left a disheveled Tony behind.

“What the hell?” He had known that living with two Norse Gods would keep him on his toes, but this was an extraordinary morning in a collection of unusual days.

“You aren’t disgusted or frightened by his alternate body shape, are you Boss?”

That dumb question earned the glare Tony sent to the nearest camera lense. “What gave you _that_ idea?”

“Close contact with shapeshifters is not a something you have encountered before, there was not much to extrapolate from. After an analysis of your typical reactions to unusual beings I was 95% sure that you would not react negatively. Jor and I were watching Lilo and Stitch, and lil bro got frightened when Stitches real form got revealed and the other characters reacted frightened.”

Tony was ready to scold his AI because if he had not been frightened by the Hulk, who was a shapeshifter as well in the sense that he switched between two bodies. Why would he hurt his kid for something benign by comparison? Then he remembered that Friday had not been his full time AI and had been very young when Banner was around and that she was still, in a lot of aspects, not a mature AI like J had been.

He slowly stood up and combed his hair with his fingers. “For future reference, no, it is not a problem as long as he isn’t growing to a size that is going to crush my tower. I suspect, from what he told us about when he got banished, that the gigantic size was never his own choice at all. I have to talk to Loki. Which I mentioned before, but you haven’t answered. Again, where is he?”

“Master Loki left for an errand, he said that he would be back before eleven o’clock. It is half past nine. Crates and boxes have been delivered by the bots.”

“Crates.” He had not asked for anything to be delivered, but maybe Pepper forgot to inform him. Which- no, that did not sound like Pep at all. A perfunctory once over with a washcloth and brushing his teeth would have to suffice. Tony sniffed at one of his favorite T-Shirts that was lying draped over a chair, decided that it was clean enough and got clothed and went in hunt for some coffee.

“My scans show that they are full of books and other nonhazardous materials.”

Now that was a pretty huge hint at the origin behind the shipment. “Loki is outside? I hope he wasn’t bored and went for a casual stroll to take a closer look at the city. I don’t think they are ready for each other.”

In the living room area Jor was happily slithering among the branches of his favorite tree.

“Don’t fall down, please,” Tony admonished and followed the siren’s song of freshly brewed coffee to the bar area.

“Master Loki searched the internet for information about a banking institution, the Bank of England, and voiced his intention of visiting them.”

Tony froze and the steaming cup stopped halfway to his mouth. Rationally he knew that Loki would never pull a stunt that would threaten the security of his son, but the combination of Trickster God and Bank of England was enough to make even a saint sweat.

“And Ms. Potts is on her way up. I did not inform her about Jori’s alternate form because it seemed to be sensitive knowledge that should not be shared outside the immediate family without consulting someone. I did not have enough-”

“Distract Jor!” Tony stopped listening, put down his cup, vaulted over one of the crates and sprinted to the elevator doors. His timing was excellent, because they were opening the same moment he reached them.

“Eh, Pep, just a sec!” He blocked her exit bodily and spread his arms to further limit her view.

Pepper was wearing one of her power suits in a deep ruby red and held a legal pad in her hands. “Tony, the last time you looked this panicked I had to call the President, please tell me you did not sleep-engineer anything or accept phone calls half asleep?”

“Do you suffer from ophidiophobia?”

“Excuse me?”

“Are you afraid of snakes. You see, we have a slight situation. You know how Jormungand is the World Serpent with emphasis on the snakey aspects, not the size and-” Tony babbled, trying his best to keep his vice to a whisper.

Pepper snapped her mouth shut.

“I don’t want to order him to change into a boy and give him the impression that he is wrong somehow and he already fears that he is a monster and if you start to scream and-”

“Tony, breath. I don’t like snakes but as long as he does not bite, has his human mind intact and does not spit fire I think I’ll deal fine. I don’t want to hurt Jori, he’s a sweet boy. Will any of the three disqualifying points be a problem?”

“No, no, and I don’t know but probably not? Fire and water don’t mix, but I didn’t have a reason to worry or check.” Tony let his arms sink down and allowed his friend to shove him to the side.

“Are you planning to redecorate?” She eyed the crates and boxes.

“Not really. They are not mine.”

On the other side of the room Friday was projecting colorful bubbles to amuse and distract Jor who was curled around the lowest branch of the mega bonsai and was making the bubbles pop with the tip of his tail.

“Good morning, Jormungand. You make a very handsome serpent,” Pepper greeted and walked, as if nothing was strange at all about this, to the couch. She and spread her files and tablets on the table. The only indication that Pepper might not be as sanguine about sharing a room with a strange serpent was that she did chose a seat where she had her back free and the kid in sight.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Ms. Potts, but sometimes you frighten me.”

She smiled at him. “Then I hope I frightened you enough so you will be too petrified to try to escape. There is a mountain of paperwork that has grown nearly to the size of the Himalaya in the last days. Be a hero and conquer that, hm?”

“Am I allowed to fetch my coffee, please? Then I’m all yours for as long as the files chain me to the couch,” Tony offered false contritely.

“Since I want to be able to swear that you were compos mentis when you signed these papers, yes. Friday told me that Loki has left the house, which means to me that you aren’t in seclusion any longer. Some of the papers can’t wait and need your input.”

Tony took a little detour to pat a squirming Jori and get his coffee then did his best to pay attention to the paperwork. Pepper Potts was one of the most successful business woman in the world and when it came down to the nitty gritty it had nothing to do with SI. The company had given her the frame to shine, but without her bullheaded tenacity, cleverness, and organisational talent, it would not have worked.

And those qualities shone in every line of the files he was working his way through. Everything was tidy, perfectly, and logically ordered and was color coded to his personal preferences and tweaked to his attention span. Tony knew from experience that the fastest way to escape paper hell was to follow the path Pep had lighted for him diligently.

At one point Jor had transformed back and joined him on the couch, a colorful book in his hands.

Pepper was working on her laptop alongside Tony. Everything was peaceful.

Then Tony reached the last color on his to do list his hand with the electronic pen lost it’s momentum. He slowly read through the file again, paged further back, skipped to the next.

“Is this even legally binding? I mean, I doubt Loki has an official address, or that Jor can be my beneficiary if I uhm,” Tony paused and looked down at the boy and didn't finish the sentence. “Anyways, without them having legal identities this is hot air.”

“Those came through on Wednesday courtesy of Ross, legal has declared everything up to par yesterday. They will hold water. Then our team drew up the legal papers you are looking at now. Nobody will be able to call foul anymore than if you got enamored with some random… floozy.” Pepper didn’t even look up from her work to deliver her little speech.

“I hope I have a higher status than floozy.”

“Father!” Jori carefully placed his book on the table and then compensated for this appalling non-childishness by throwing himself at Loki with a delighted battle cry.

“Tony is not afraid of my serpent form at all!” The boy jumped up and down and then, as if to demonstrate, transformed again and butted first Loki with his head and then hurried over to Tony to wrap around him like a very exotic feather boa.

“Do not raise you voice like this. It is uncouth and you do not want to end like Thor, unable to chose the acceptable volume for the given situation,” Loki scolded mildly.

Tony adjusted the boy so one of the coils didn’t press against his reactor and enjoyed the view. Loki cut a very fine figure in his suit. It was less flamboyant than the one he had worn in Germany and lacked the scarf, but the charcoal pinstripe was nearly as flattering as the full out battle gear.

Loki threw Tony an amused, knowing look, bent down to remove Jor and place him on a branch again and then returned for a soft kiss before he concentrated on their visitor. “Good morning Ms. Potts. It is a pleasure to meet you finally.”

“Next you will tell me that you have heard so much about me?” Pepper crossed her legs elegantly and inclined her head like a queen.

“Tony is full of stories about his two best friends.”

Uh oh. Tony felt the hair on the back of his head stand on end. Then it came to him that it might be a social faux pas to introduce the past lover he nearly married to the current one whom… he loved very much?

He blinked.

“Tony?”

"Anthony?"

Loki was staring at him and over his shoulder. Pepper was too, both of them having a nearly similar concerned expression on their faces.

“Sorry, something that brewed for some time just kind of clicked into place. Don’t mind me. By the way, Loki, those crates, do I have to put another level on top of the penthouse? the mayor likes me but I doubt he will allow me to push the height restrictions.”

“You lost all color, Tony, that is not good,” Pepper scolded.

“Ms. Potts is correct.”

“Don’t gang up on me. I remembered something important, that’s all.” Tony waved their concern away and shoved the L-revelation into a box he would not look at until he was damn well ready. Not now.

“If you say so, Anthony.” Loki slipped back into a more comfortable sitting position beside Tony but kept a hand on him.

“Those are some books I ordered, only the essentials.”

Six crates and a dozen big cardboard boxes only held essentials? “Maybe we can push the visitor’s floor one level down? But then the extended family apartments would be stuck in between.” Tony pondered.

“Do not worry, I am very content with the available space in the spare room you showed me. It will make a splendid library and workroom after I altered it with a few wards and spells. Jor, one of the cardboard boxes, I asked the shop to mark it with a blue color, has your new books. The children’s series you wanted should be in there.”

That proved to be too much incentive to stay with the adults. The kid changed again and went to investigate immediately. Maybe he was happy to do so freely, maybe he was making up for time he did not dare to use his abilities. Tony observed Jori and leaned against Loki.

They were interrupted by giggling. When they turned they saw Pepper holding a hand in front of her mouth. If she did it to hide her amusement, she failed abysmally.

“I worried that this affair was a side effect of another one of Tony’s Iron Man projects or a fleeting fancy that got out of hand. Ensorcellment has been already ruled out officially.”

“This?” Tony did not like where he saw this going.

Pepper sighed and put away everything she had held. Stylus, pad, and laptop. “Loki, I do not know if it has come to your attention, but Tony is not what anyone would call fitting the societal norm.”

“Hey!”

“It is normally very difficult to judge if he is serious about someone beyond bedding them because it nearly never happens. Sex alone is not necessarily emotionally engaging for Tony. It is a relaxing pastime, but he does not naturally connect the concept of intimate relations to commitment or romance.”

“You are speaking from personal experience. It is not a secret at all, in fact it is well documented that you two were lovers for a time.” Loki tilted his head, a honestly amused smile on his lips.

Tony looked from one to the other, his mouth slightly open.

“I now love him like a very good friend, I can’t be part of Iron Man’s life and we did not click on a domestic basis. But I still miss the sex.”

“You are very blunt.”

“I don’t like misunderstandings. I’m not competition, but I’m his friend. And let me tell you, if you hurt him, Norse God or not, I will make you regret it. Now,- ”

Tony moaned and let his head sink back against the backrest. “Pepper, are you giving my new …partner in want of a better word a ‘So, you sleep with Tony Stark 101 lecture?!?”

“Don’t insult me, 101 would mean that I escort them out while handing them a NDA and tell them to savor the memory. Which reminds me, I have one of those for Loki, an extended specialized version.”

She looked very pleased when she turned her attention to Loki again. “It would legally shield you from inquiries about what you might be technologically or informationally exposed to while in the company of Tony Stark.”

“Non disclosure agreement.” Tony sighed.

“And a few more beside. Dealing with your green card and other legal matters got especially complicated. Date of birth alone was fun to work out. Your amended Accords agreement has been sent over as well, Barbara is such a dearheart.” Pep grinned sweetly and scrolled through her legal pad with the gusto of a connoisseur.

“Remind me to introduce you to Sigyn someday.” Loki smiled at Tony crookedly and then listened patiently while Pepper led him through the legal jungle of Midgard.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As far as I understand the issue: No matter what the agreement between the UN and the rogues or the US and the rogues - those are contract issues on an international and federal level. Individual victims/persons would have the right to sue the rogues in a civilian court. Fex, the motorcyclist (if he survived which...ok, different issue) or his family/wife has the right to sue James Barnes. Individual sovereign nations have the right to refuse individuals entry into their country (like Waldheim was not allowed to enter the US fex). I guess that in the real world the only way for any of the rogues to travel freely outside the US would be on an official UN mission. I have no idea how the civilian court side would be handled, from the research I've done it would be one big messy pile of lawyer redtape and paper.


	23. Cat's and dogs (don't mix)

“Considering what happened last time I do not want you to go alone to that meeting.” Loki was scowling.

Barbara Compton had come to collect Tony in person for an emergency session of the full Sokovia Accords Council. Full meant that as many signatories as could spare the time,  potentially 137, would be in one room. The Briton was now waiting for Tony in her car downstairs.

“I can’t ignore them, a summon is a summon and I signed those Accords. Compton said the session is about clearing up unresolved issues from the ‘Civil War’ and that Captain America has linked his willingness to sign to his supplication being brought before the full assembly. No outsiders is allowed and it is closed to the public.”

Blackmail? Because Cap knew that the council needed him at the moment for making people feel secure? This was not a method Rogers usually favored while in the public eye. It conflicted with his morals, though Tony could sense the subtle touch of long, spidery legs all over this request. “Whatever this is about, Cap believes he has a better chance reaching his goal by involving more Council members.”

“Rogers has to know that his reputation is worth shit outside the US. He must have something he can offer them, something they want more than him in front of a judge.” Pepper didn’t look any happier than the mage. “Loki is right, you are not going alone. I’m calling James. They can’t say no, he was there and directly involved.” She pulled out her phone.

Tony looked at the ceiling and thought about his morning.

Tony had observed wide eyed how his lover and his best female friend circled each other like polite sharks, until they suddenly came to a conclusion indecipherable to their audience and became buddies. He watched from the sidelines how they interacted and knew that he would live to deeply regret introducing Pepper to Loki. It would be the kind of regret someone felt feel while watching a high risk poker game (with them as the prize!) and no angle to count the cards, breathlessly afraid of the show but still looking through their fingers because they did not want to miss one single second.

It turned out that Pep and Loki shared a twisted sense of humor and a love for theater and opera. Descriptions of the Met and some productions Pepper had loved and the resulting look of longing on Loki’s face spelled hours and hours of screeching and boring music for Tony’s future. Pepper had brought it up, and Loki was very on board with the idea that a wonderful evening at the opera would be the very best way to have Tony and Loki show up in public as a pair and create great publicity.

The three had been nowhere near the end of the mountain of files and forms and had indulged in an early lunch break when their visitor had arrived with the summons. It had put an immediate damper on the animated conversation that had sprung up between the three adults.

From the twin stares of protectiveness that followed him to the elevator they would also work perfectly together to level Headquarters if Tony got hurt again.

 

.-#-.

 

The meeting was in conference room twelve. Oh joy.

Ostensibly keeping the citizens of your own countries calm trumped Steve Rogers’ pressing requests, only five more Ambassadors than the last time had shown up. Other than that it was a very similar picture. Politicians seated at the front side of the room, the Captain and his crew (minus Maximoff) on the right and Tony and company to the left.

Compton stared at Rogers for a full minute before opening the session. “Captain Rogers, you told us you had two pressing propositions? From the missive you sent I got the impression that you think a positive outcome would help our fight against the Chitauri, but that you see no chance for your requests getting a fair chance if you ask Dr. Stark directly.”

“Thank you for organizing this meeting, Your Excellency.” Rogers squirmed a little bit, he looked deeply uncomfortable in the pressed suit he had donned. “I am sorry that I had to involve the Council, it is further proof how much the relationship between Tony Stark and us, his former team mates, is damaged by misunderstandings and differences in our views. Colonel Rhodes, Stephen Strange, and the Vision have already declined my invitation to join the team. Wanda Maximoff has been disqualified due to mental health problems and Clint Barton has announced that he will step back to a part time membership. My team is missing hard hitters with range capability.”

Nods and thoughtful expressions were predominant on the faces of most Ambassadors. Rogers was at his most dangerous. Soft spoken, elaborate and convinced of his own words, it was a compelling combination and he was making sense on the surface.

What was he aiming at? Tony looked from one Team Cap member to the other, none were looking into his directions at all, instead they were politely smiling at the Ambassadors.

“We request Iron Man. We want Tony Stark, who said himself that he has more important projects, to give the suit to another pilot.”

Nods all around and avaricious gleams in various Council members’ eyes, mostly those who were former military. _Rogers, you fool!_

Hell, no! It was the old ‘Iron Man yes, Tony Stark no’ angle. Tony would not embarrass a woman he respected very much by acting like a complete asshole in an assembly she was heading, but hell on a pogo stick, five more minutes of this nonsense and he would not resist slipping back into his brat days and pull down his trousers to moon these idiots. Or hack their email accounts and send them fake ads for brains. Buy two brain cells, get four for free!

Romanova slowly turned her head, her lips in a pleased curve, smiling at Tony.

Before he could open his mouth and tell them what he thought of that proposal Rhodey clamped one hand painfully down on Tony’s thigh, where nobody would see what he was doing.

“May I offer my opinion, please?” Rhodey was soft spoken, polite, and cut a dashing figure in his dress blues. Air Force officers must be trained to hop into their good duds inside five minutes. “I am very familiar with the history and problems surrounding the use of Dr. Stark’s exoskeleton-battle suits and I might be able to shed a more relatable light on why handing Iron Man over to a new pilot is wrought with problems.”

Tony huffed, controlled his breathing and stopped swearing in his head. He would not hand his creation over. They would say: only until the Chitauri have been beaten, don’t worry. He would have them sign a ton of papers, turn his back to work on his part of the defenses and they would begin to fight like kids on the playground over who would get their dirty mitts on the suit first. And never hand it back. 9/10ths of the law is possession, Tony only had to look at the Falcon Wings or the Shield.

“I would really appreciate it. You have experience in handling one of Dr. Stark’s creations.” Compton cut off any protest she saw boiling up among Cap’s team. Romanova wasn’t looking as happy anymore and she was whispering in Rogers’ ear.

“Colonel Rhodes, while an outstanding officer, is also a close friend of Tony Stark,” Rogers cautioned.”He is known to side with-”

Tony sighed, sat up straighter, activated his Stark Phone and had a video on play inside five seconds. It showed everyone how Rhodey took possession of the Iron Man armor during the the palladium incident. While the video played, his nimble fingers had dug up a few more and added it to the reel. The room was bombarded with a slide show of Rhodey chewing Tony out and telling him no emphatically. “You were saying?”

Rogers’ cheeks brightened.

Tony sent an apologetic smile at his friend, but Rhodey only rolled his eyes heavenward.

A lot of Ambassadors were suddenly in need of cough drops.

“I am very familiar with both the advantages and the pitfalls of my position.” Rhodey shrugged his shoulders when some people winced. “Yes, literally as well. I think a hands on demonstration of my arguments would be best, but I need my suit. Am I allowed to call on it? It can be here inside five minutes. The weapons will be offline and locked, don’t worry.”

Compton nodded. “Now you have made me curious. You have my permission.”

Tony sent the command to Friday.

Rhodey stood up. “While we are waiting I am going to use the time for some preliminary background information. Last year I attended a function and my table neighbour was one of my old professors from MIT. One of the things he mentioned was that the administration had deliberately chosen me to be the roommate of this new crazy whizkid, in the faint hope that Tony Stark would come to respect me due to my own outstanding intelligence and more mature outlook on life. I’m not on his level, but I can follow most of his theories without getting hopelessly lost. Take this anecdote and my evaluation by experienced professors who deal with exceptional minds every day as certification that I’m very intelligent, but I am not a genius compared to Stark. I don’t have his drive and I am satisfied with my current career.”

Wow, Tony had never heard his friend admit to his more brainy side. Rhodey must think this a serious enough situation to pull out the big guns.

The doors to the hall were opened and the massive bulk of the War Machine armor filled the door frame. Gasps were heard throughout the room and some of the Ambassadors stood up and leaned forward to get a better look. Most of them had never been near such a machine before and for them it was a shock experiencing the physicality of the battle suit.

Friday did an excellent job with steering it down into the middle. Tony grinned a little bit and nearly hummed the imperial march, because some of the movements were exaggerated and suspiciously rhythmic. His dear girl loved Star Wars. Then he refocused on whatever point his friend was trying to prove because Tony had no idea whatsoever where this was leading and how it might help Tony to keep his suit and not alienate everyone here in the process.

“War Machine has a biometric lock calibrated to me. No other soldier can operate the suit. The differences between Iron Man and War Machine can be attributed to their different operational areas and to their pilot’s capabilities. I have the thicker plating and more powerful standard weaponry, Iron Man is versatile and more fluid. Some of the rival nations to the US have wondered why we do not have more of these suits and why Stark refuses to give in and manufacture them, considering what we are facing.

The Russian Ambassador, Igor Tolmachyov stood up. “Because it would mean that one of us will get to study and replicate them, that’s why.”

Tony huffed. Yeah, they would be all over the first downed suit like flies on a carcass.

Rhodey was completely unmoved. “It’s because, even if Tony relented on his no weapons rule, we would not have the pilots to operate them. You were a general in the Russian Infantry, if I remember correctly You Excellency?”

Tolmachyov nodded.

“Would you like to try on the suit, if Stark agrees? All weapons are offline and can’t be activated, you would only experience standby mode.”

“Rhodey?” Tony protested.

His friend looked at him and his face asked louder than words for Tony to trust him.

His skin was itching, his mouth was dry, but Tony slowly nodded. “I have to do it manually. I will add a time lock, nobody should get any stupid ideas.” Which was a big fat lie, he could do it remotely with Friday’s help but nowadays Tony was more cautious of exposing his AIs to public scrutiny.

It took a few minutes and some hands on maintenance. It was a good thing Tony didn’t suffer from performance anxiety or he would be a nervous mess. Everyone was watching him like it was the newest episode of Game of Thrones instead of a mechanic staring at his phone, cables and an open panel.

“I hope you aren’t claustrophobic,” the exasperated genius said to the impatiently waiting Ambassador.

“Good point and I would have mentioned it in a minute myself. Stark is right, the person inside can’t be afraid of tight spaces at all and some other related issues. There is no give and no escape when you are encased by the armor and it can be very overwhelming. If you want to test it, try for a similar experience? Look for a medieval knight’s armor in your size -which is the first hurdle because modern people are taller - and put it on. The ones that are mainly tin cans, not the leathery stuff. Then consider, War Machine is worse. Ambassador?”

Some of the other former military men and women in the room who had been grumbling about the Russian being favored had calmed down.

Tolmachyov had shed his jacket. For a man that looked like he was in his sixties he had a fairly trim figure and good muscle tone. War Machine slowly engulfed him.

The armor’s sound system was online and they could hear the synthesized voice of the Russian exclaiming in his mother tongue.

“Tony, I know you can project the HUD on a screen. Show them what the Ambassador is experiencing.

“If you insist, ok.” Tony followed Rhodey’s lead, shaking his head. “I am keeping an eye on the ambassador’s blood pressure levels.” Really, Rhodey should know that this was not like allowing a kid a ride in daddy’s car or some funfair attraction.

Everyone was treated to the distorted picture of the Russians face with the HUD superimposed. Suit information, biofeedback about the pilot, schematics of the room and the occupants, all of it blinked and danced in red and white on black.

Tony tilted his head and considered some upgrades. The spatial schematics could do with tweaking, they were not three dimensional enough to provide good information should Rhodey ever have to fight inside his suit and close quarters.

“I could ask Stark to show you what my HUD would be displaying during a combat situation, but I will not. Ambassador, are you ready to come out?”

“It’s fascinating, but yes, I have enough. I am getting a headache.”

Rhodey had to help the man to his seat, he was a little bit shaky. The big smile on his face was very undignified for his usually stout and grumbly Russian self.

“Exceptional!” Tolmachyov exclaimed. “But very confusing.”

“The headache is normal, it will go away in a bit. The cause is overexposure to data input. I’m getting those headaches if I’m overdoing it and I’m used to my suit and train extensively to avoid getting overwhelmed. This is one of the reasons why War Machine is not rated for long term deployment as a battle asset and why I am not flying long missions. The information a human brain has to process while operating the suit is enormous.”

Compton: “I think I can guess what you are trying to show us too, Colonel. And you say Dr. Stark’s interface is more diverse than yours, more complicated?”

“I’ve seen the numbers, he is dealing with twice to thrice the information I’m getting. We have complex programs that help to operate our armors, we would fail otherwise. Stick some average soldier inside Iron Man and they might manage to hit what they are aiming for after some training but they will never function anywhere near the original pilot’s levels. We aren’t petty when we deny another pilot for Iron Man and War Machine. Tony Stark is Iron Man, literally. He built that suit.”

“You are saying we are too stupid to understand Iron Man, really?” Lang was the one on Cap’s team who spoke up.

“Tony Stark is a genius, but he does not have the highest IQ on record, that honor goes to Dr. Reed Richards. But Tony is by far the most talented multitasker and that, combined with his creativity, is what makes Iron Man such an asset. There is battle enhancement gear in development, in a few years it will be possible for a soldier to achieve some of the feats of Iron Man and War Machine in the field. But you aren’t asking for a blunt weapon, you want the full package and somehow you got the impression that this will be achieved by the suit. Believe me, it is not the suit, it is the pilot that makes the difference*.”

And yes, you are too stupid, went unsaid.

“Igor? Your opinion?” Compton asked then glared at Tony pointedly and then at his phone until he guessed what she wanted and had the armor walk out of the way. Tony had War Machine stand at parade rest behind Rhodey.

“Unfortunately, after experiencing the suit I have to agree, we won’t be able to find another pilot for Iron Man soon.”

Wrangling the suit away from Tony’s control would always be a hot topic, but this attempt had failed thanks to Rhodey. Point for Team Engineer!

But Rogers was not done. The blond was back to projecting polite attentiveness. “This does not solve my problem. I hope my second appeal will be more successful. We are missing a huge opportunity, squandering a battle asset.”

The super soldier's voice faltered slightly with the word asset and Tony felt any satisfaction at countering the first attack evaporate. Rogers was trying some of the same tactics Tony had used to make Loki attractive as an ally, he was dangling the hope that one of the world’s biggest bogeyman would be hitting their enemies instead of lurking in the shadows and threatening them with his sheer existence.

“You aren’t talking about the Winter Soldier, are you?” Tony blurted out.

“You are making the same mistake again, Tony. James Buchanan Barnes is not the Winter Soldier, he is a hero and a good man,” Rogers softly chastised, the corners of his mouth turned down in disapproval.

Surprisingly, it was Princess Shuri who spoke up. “Then your argument is invalid. You are trying to convince the council that they can have the skills, experience and training of the Winter Soldier on their side, but with Barnes in the driver’s seat. Which would be a mesh of the two, not different people. If Barnes is as heroic and good of heart as you claim him to be, it would take a long time to overcome the less desirable instincts of his alter ego, not to mention that it would be a mentally and psychologically taxing experience. We do not have years, Mr. Rogers.”

“He is pinning his hopes on BARF.” Tony had enough of dancing around the issue and cut to the core.

A scratching sound made Tony look to the side. Rhodey had shoved his chair back and had stood up to stand slightly behind Tony. To keep him from losing his temper, or to support him if Tony tried to slug Steve?

"We have months to sort out his issues. This is not about the past, please don’t make it about something Bucky Barnes could not control, it is about doing what is right now, about helping someone who needs it." Rogers was addressing the assembly with righteous fire in his eyes.

"Problem is, we all do not exist in a vacuum. Those murders and other atrocities happened and they create ripples that influence the present." Months? Seventy years of torture and Rogers wanted a miracle to overcome such an experience? Tony knew that the chances for getting Rogers to see his side were next to nil. The man had set himself a goal and was, true to his nature, trying to reach it with all his might. Tony felt the shivers getting stronger and wanted nothing more than to leave this conference room.

"Tony, I am really sorry you got hurt, that I hurt you, but you have to see that Bucky was a victim too, that he deserves help."

"That's not something I deny, but I can't give you BARF. It is not approved by the medical board, hasn't gone through any clinical tests."

"But you can operate it! I talked to some very talented doctors-"

Translation, the stubborn blond had haunted Wakanda’s medical elite relentlessly before he had returned to the USA. Princess Shuri didn’t look pleased either. "and they have analysed the data-"

Tony massaged the bridge of his nose. That data should not be so easily available. Who the fuck had caved, fallen for Rogers’ spiel and handed that over? Tony would sue them so hard they would forget what the world outside a court room lookes like.

"- and have come to the conclusion that BARF could be crucial in removing the triggers from Bucky's mind. Isn't that a worthy cause, a cause for a hero?" pleaded Rogers, his hands held out in supplication.

Tony bit back a snarl and relaxed when he felt Rhodey gripping his shoulder in support.

"And if he's not giving into your demands he's no hero, eh?” his best friend growled.

Hot color crept into Roger's perfect cheeks. "That's not what I said!"

"That's what you believe, and it shows," Tony softly added and pushed his chair back, more in direction of his Platypus.

Rogers licked his lips, his eyes still pleading. "How can helping a sick man overcome torture he didn't deserve and didn't ask for be wrong?"

It was Compton, who had been silently observing their conversation until now, who answered him. "It can be when it comes at the price of another man's injury. And it frankly astonishes me that this consequence hasn't occurred to you, Mr. Rogers."

Cue a completely clueless stare.

Rhodey tightened his grip and Tony decided, that for once he would let others fight this battle. It felt strange, this was not something that would have ever occurred to him before. Making a big production, putting on a show, yes, but now- He turned his head removing himself from the conversation.

"Dr. Stark is in no way obligated to help Sergeant Barnes. Thanks to those videos everyone is aware of the history between the two men."

"Bucky can't be held responsible for what HYDRA made him do. They used him as a weapon and it pains him to remember that he was used as a tool of destruction."

"And he's circumventing the bald truth again, trying to whitewash it. No mention of what exactly they made him do, eh? Those 'done' had names." Rhodey bit out and ignored Compton’s demand to calm down. "Barnes killed Tony's parents and Tony got to see a recording of him in action. Don't you care at all that being in Barnes’ presence will hurt Tony? And for BARF to work he would have to interact with the Winter Soldier for hours, intensely, and it would demand of him as the operator and regulator of the machine to be professional and suppress his own feelings and needs!"

"Colonel Rhodes!" snapped the Briton.

The stone in Tony's stomach had gained weight and was rolling around.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, but Cap's thick head doesn't do subtle."

And indeed, the buff, stubborn son of a bitch wasn't giving an inch even now. "If Tony could only bring himself to conceive the truth, that it wasn't Bucky, he himself could heal, which is important for Tony as well and interact with Bucky like the victim my friend is."

"Rhodey, calm down," Tony murmured.

Compton interfered before Rhodes could blow a gasket. "Captain Rogers, I don't think you are aware that you are pushing the responsibility for everything on Dr. Stark’s shoulders again. The fact that viewing his parents' murder was deeply traumatizing for him cannot be denied and nobody should demand, and this is what your words boil down to, for him to _get over it._ It would benefit James Barnes and Steven Rogers, obviously, but please take a minute and then answer me what it would gain Anthony Stark?"

The emotional high of being considered a hero (again), but a bucketload of nightmares and probably a panic attack or two. Most likely during his sessions with Barnes which-

Tony took a deep breath and decided that his mental health was worth more than beating some sense into Rogers with words. He had to convince the audience that he had valid reasons and wasn't vindictive, Rogers was a lost cause.

He stood up.

"This is not me being petty or wanting revenge. I can't do it and it is a question of responsible behaviour and professional ethics. If my shrinks are to be believed, and all of them agree on that, you cannot force mental healing, it is not something that runs on schedule. Which means if I'm not in a state of mind to interact with Barnes, then - it isn't possible. I suffer from PTSD and I am prone to panic attacks; I have a handle on it, mostly. Thankfully battle isn't a trigger.

But does anyone in here think that this, combined with a brainwashed and traumatised prisoner of war and an untried medical procedure is a feasible combination?" He looked around the room, checked the faces of the attendants. Most of them were neutral, some were nodding, a few were wrinkling their foreheads or scowling.

He pointedly didn't look in Roger's direction. In the 40s modern psychology had been in its infancy. Mental problems weren't a medical condition many people liked to think about or acknowledge as an injury that could hurt just as much as a stab wound. There was still a stigma to those problems now, only not as big.

For all Tony knew Rogers might have taken the time to research modern mental health views, theories and treatment and was just being situationally blind when it came to Tony. Which would not be something new.

Frankly, the genius couldn't be arsed to care anymore.

"What I can offer is to train a neuromedicine specialist, preferable with an additional degree in psychology, in the use of BARF. How many waivers and exceptions are needed to use it in a responsible way will be someone else's call."

"That will take months!" Rogers exclaimed.

Compton ignored him and opened the issue for discussion among her colleagues.

One of the other Ambassadors asked to be heard. "Mr. Rogers, it is a good compromise, you have to admit it. Sergeant Barnes will receive the procedure you want him to have and Dr. Stark will not suffer additional trauma and a setback in his own healing. If Sergeant Barnes wants to join the Avengers when he is healthy again, good for us. I doubt that the problems will end after defeating the Chitauri."

"We could really use the Winter Soldier on the battlefield against the Chitauri," the Russian representative offered. “He is legend!”

"Yes, we all know that he is impressive, but do we need him more than Dr. Stark?" Ruud from Norway asked. "We can't risk a setback with USAGI and I'm with Colonel Rhodes on this, it is monstrous to force a victim to face such trauma."

Then Kenia spoke up. "We are neglecting something important. The procedure is still considered experimental. If Dr. Stark agrees against his better judgement because he is the most experienced operator, even if he does his best and nothing outside the proposed therapy procedure happens, and something goes wrong nevertheless - medicine does not work like mechanics - who do you think will be open to blame? This is a no win scenario for Dr Stark. One of my degrees is in legal studies and in my professional opinion he should refuse to even consider it."

Steve Rogers crossed his arms in front of his massive chest. “This is why I was so reluctant about signing the accords, they are all about paper, not people. Your Excellency, you are talking about maybes and contingencies and cold, unfeeling loopholes in laws and who might sue whom. On the other hand I’m fighting for a living person that has suffered immensely and deserves our full support.”

Princess Shuri stood up, crossed the room until she was standing in front of Rogers and stared up at him. “And what is Dr. Stark if not a living feeling person? A dog?!? He has agreed to help your friend, but on his own terms and you are still not satisfied? Is more time with your friend worth causing damage to another human being? Is this what you are saying?”

Tony shared a impressed look with Rhodey and went to do a hero’s work and rescue Rogers from an enraged pantheress. Everyone else, even the Captain’s own team members were keeping out of it.

“Ah, Your Highness, please don’t claw him? You don’t want to get his blood on that gorgeous dress. Barnes is his blind spot, always has been. I’m learning not to take it personally. He’s like a dog with a child to protect exclusively in that aspect.”

At the moment Rogers really resembled a chastised labrador. Blond, wide eyed and not sure what he had done wrong and why everyone was looking at him in disappointment. He was also incredibly loyal and loving with a big heart - but only for his chosen family.

Shuri kept staring into Rogers’ eyes and then huffed before she relented. “Your words are truthful, Dr. Stark. I am not happy that this council spent so much time on this, but maybe it is not wasted time after all. It gave us all insight, maybe healing. And my dress is made of cloth that does not show blood much and it is easily washed.”

“My favorite kind of dress!” Tony exclaimed and smiled.

Amused and exasperated whispers sloshed through the room and Rhodey’s voice stood out, groaning about Tony and his broken impulse control.

One elegant eyebrow rose and Shuri mustered him from head to toe, dismissing Rogers without looking back. “Are you flirting with me?”

“A tiny little bit, I couldn’t resist a lovely lady? But you are safe from my charms, don’t worry, I’m off the market and taken.” Tony beamed at her. She had the right idea, it was better to focus on things he could change.

 

TBC

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I kind of quoted one of my own drabbles with that line.
> 
> I got a lot of questions concerning what the public knows, why the council would indulge the rogues and what is happening with Wanda. 
> 
> Ok, here are my thoughts: I support the Accords because of the oversight and reduced chance of someone abusing their position for personal gain. Signing them, in my opinion, takes power away from Ross. A drawback of a multi-tier command and administrative structure is that you have to treat requests by people you don't like just like you would everyone else - and that some evaluations and desicions (like what to do with Wanda) take weeks and months. The council is very eager to put the rogues in check and they have a preliminary agreement signed. Which is smart and what I think that original meeting on screen was about: we will abide by this terms but have thte right to propose changes and work out the details. They are treating Cap&Co professionally and would react the same way if it was Tony telling them fex that he wants the Exo-Wings back.  
> Most of the council know that Rogers is talking bullshit but Nat is smart, she will have hinted to interested parties beforehand that it's about wrangling Iron Man away from Tony and considering the nature of politicians they jumped at that. Every Nation would have had theoretically the same chance at snatching up some of the technology, so it would not be like conceding an advantage to a rival nation.  
> People are up in arms about 'the end of the world' and the rogues, nobody is really interested in dragging Wanda too much into the light. There should be short announcement on the official webpage that proclaims that the Ultron incident is in the process of re-evaluation due to new information without too many details - The Sokovian Ambassador was present for the reveal, he will not forget and he will not forgive. There is a lot of fighting going on in the background. Wanda and her deceptions are complicated on different levels. How to deal with something new like malicious magical influence, who get's her first, if they want to try her case by case or will countries band together to be heard - what to do with the Stark issue - because, as outraged as the Sokovians are, what will they now do in regards to Tony and the reparations he already made? Should they/can they give it back, will he want/demand it back? A formal appology of course but when? It's a big, big mess. It should take weeks and months to sort out, not days. I don't know if this will ever make it into the planned outtake drabble series, it gives me headaches^^.


	24. Water, water (everywhere)

Tony counted it as a minor miracle that there was no big upheaval to end the session forcefully. Compton got to close it simply by calling for a show of hands. The vote for separating Iron Man from Tony Stark was still closer to yes than Tony felt comfortable with, but BARF was out of Rogers’ reach.

Overall, he felt relieved. He would have been able and very ready to file for a reappeal and call his lawyers in if it had gone wrong, they could stall an order for quite some time. His creations were his intellectual property and controlled by patents and contracts and those counted for something. Getting combative would have damaged his reputation though, because the public would have seen it as Tony Stark only supporting the Accords he had signed when they worked in his favor.

Rogers had reacted crestfallen, his tall frame slumped in a way that was jarring to look at. His friends huddled around him, patting him on the shoulders and sending angry glares to Tony. Barton held himself at the edges of the crowd, sent a look Tony could not read at all and then herded his team members to the other side of the room.

Some of the Ambassadors were speaking with each other, some worked their way from one group to the other. Pepper, with her interest in interpersonal dynamics, would have been able to deduce who was affiliated, indebted, contemptuous or all of the above woven together, but Tony had hated this aspect of board meetings, it had not gotten better with the Council. Nearly all of them, one after the other, found a reason to take a close look at War Machine, maybe with the hope that Tony would let them try it on too.

“Crude but effective.” Shuri had returned and was inspecting the armored suit.

“Are you talking about the armor or me?” Tony quipped.

Then he saw how Rhodey was staring at the slender hand that was patting his armor. “You can’t mean the Colonel.” Tony expressively waved both hands at his friend like a showmaster. “He’s like the soul of good manners. All polite and calm over a core of pure reliable steel!”

“Oh God, Tony, stop!” moaned Rhodey.

“And he’s patient too, I gather?” Shuri sweetly smiled.

“To stay at my charming side for years? Of course!”

“You are making me reconsider that choice, Tones,” Rhodey protested but his mouth was twitching, betraying his amusement.

Shuri shook her head at their antics.

“Isn’t crude a little bit harsh though? Of course Iron Man is more stylish,” Tony preened, “but Rhodey does insist on the form follows function principle a lot more than myself and it’s really great in its own way. If you want to, as a thank you for your support, do you want to take a closer look? Maybe not today because your dress might be great but-”

Rhodey put a hand over Tony’s mouth. “He is the worst wingman ever. I’m sorry.”

Tony slipped free. Shuri’s eyes were glittering, but not dangerously, so he tried to explain himself.  “She is a scientist with an engineer slant, new technology should be as irresistible as catnip for her.”

“I would not put it quite like that. Do not worry, Colonel Rhodes, I am not offended. I have a brother who is not much older than I and I am familiar with silly bantering among him and his friends. And there is no debt between us, Dr. Stark.”

“Call me Tony, all this Dr. Stark here, Dr. Stark there is making me queasy, it’s just not me, you know?” Tony put on his best charming smile and bent forward, as if he was going to reveal a secret. “My offer was not meant as repayment.”

Shuri folded her hands and ignored the offer to use his name. “Oh?”

If she wanted to use the more clunky title, it was her own fault. “It was a friendly thank you. We were both invested in the outcome. I mean, it would be disastrous for a lot of people if there was precedence for an organization, be it the UN or a government, going through with taking control over privately owned advanced technology. What would they have tried to seize next, all in the name of defense?”

The smile on Shuri’s lips got a little more pronounced. “Exactly. By the way, my brother is sending his best wishes for your full recovery.”

Did he now? “Thank you, that is very kind. I am feeling much better, a little pain here and there, but I’m nearly fully back to my normal health.”

“That is pleasing to hear. If there are any long term complications, T’Challa is offering to have one of our doctors consult with yours, with all the required agreements in place, of course. For you as well, Colonel.”

Rhodey smiled hesitantly. “I have no idea how advanced your medicine is, but my spine- the nerve damage is permanent, according to my doctors. I’m only on my feet because Tony is a stubborn genius who does not take impossible for an answer.”

Tony’s eyebrows rose up in genuine astonishment when he saw Shuri reach out and stroke over Rhodey’s chest and tap the place over his heart. “I cannot make promises, but it would be such a waste. Good day to you both.”

And with those words she turned and walked away.

The gobsmacked look on Rhodey’s face was priceless.

Tony was still ribbing his poor platypus when they slipped into the back of the waiting limousine until Rhodey threatened to wake him up at five in the morning for the next month for a few rounds on the training course. But even his amusement about the lovely Princess and his friend was not enough to make Tony feel more sanguine about the other game of cat and mouse he just escaped.

“Ok, I’ll stop, I’ll stop. Don’t threaten my beauty sleep. By the way, thank you so much for pulling my bacon out of the fire, Rhodey. Good idea, about giving them headaches. I should have tried that method sooner instead of annoying them. But, did you see those looks? This whole rigmarole was not set up by Cap, I’d bet my last T-Shirt on it. He wants his Bucky back, sure, but that was the hook Romanova used to make him her cat’s paw. What’s her deal?”

“That’s easy and I’m disappointed that you do not see it yourself, Anthony. The spider is trying to get her investment into a more profitable position.”

“Hey!” Tony sputtered and glared at the figure that had not been sitting on his unoccupied side a second ago. “Were you with us all along or-? We managed fine.”

“No need to pout, I know that you are competent. I used the opportunity to test that nifty little spell Dr. Strange was nice enough to introduce to me. It is only fair, is it not, that I should watch with the same method they used to violate the sanctity of our home, no?”

“That will take some time to get used to. Don’t pop up just like that man! If you surprise me at the wrong moment I might shoot you!” Rhodey complained.  

Loki ignored him. “You made clear that you will not fall for Agent Romanova’s manipulations. She can’t slip back into obscurity and her old occupation, her face is too well known. Her team has lost not only a financial backer, they lost prestige. Others are now more wary of her too. She exchanged a lot of her spy prospects for being recognizable as a member of your little… group.”

“And she’s playing to Fury’s old script, which makes me wonder who is really holding her leash now. SHIELD has a very short sighted philosophy, they want Iron Man running missions without pesky, mouthy contrary geniuses inside, and they are willing to take the chance that their scientists can’t copy the suit. Face it Tones, you haven’t met an order yet you didn’t question,” Rhodey added.

“Not if I don’t trust the one who’s giving the orders, no.” Tony was aware of those other facts, but it was always nice to work them out by someone playing devil’s advocate and he knew that he tended to overlook the importance of details that were insignificant to him. “Don’t they know how many hours of maintenance my suit needs?”

Rhodey slipped into a seat across from Loki instead to face Tony. “SHIELD was at its core a scavenger organisation. They did not build, they did not invent, they stole technologies and inventors alike and used what they wanted for their Greater Good. And when it was used up, they threw it away and searched for a replacement.”

Harsh. No, Rhodey had never been a fan of SHIELD. “You are both saying basically the same thing, Loki about Romanova as a person and Rhodey about the organisation she was loyal to. Like calls to like.”

“Exactly.”

Loki looked at him seriously. “And you are foiling her plans and are in her way. Be very careful around that Spider, Anthony.” Then a mischievous smile flittered across his face. “But you managed to survive a flyting without any damage, I’m impressed. You have more competent friends at your back than I thought.”

“Thank you, I think?” Rhodey dubiously stared at the Trickster.

“Sirs, I have Thaddeus Ross on the phone, there’s an emergency.”

If it wasn’t so serious the looks on all their faces would be called comical.

“Telling him that he reached the live decoy version won’t do?” Tony asked miserably, then opened the connection. “Alright, lay it on me. What has Rogers done now? I will not turn around and listen to another-”

“Shut up, Stark. HYDRA is about to blow up the Hudson River dam.”

Rhodey sat up more, his shoulders back. Tony could practically see how the light hearted nature of his friend retreated and gave way for the experienced soldier. “Demands?” The command voice was back too.

“None, we would not even know it if one of their operatives hadn’t gotten cold feet! They want to sow devastation as a warning and prove that they will go through with such a scheme in the future as well.”

The car did not have a full command center set-up, but like all vehicles Tony might spend a lot of time in they had the essentials. “Happy, get us to the Tower fast, Friday, ready Iron Man Mark- no, wait, ready the Deep Sea Version. Is War Machine back as well?”

“Back and ready.”

A few hand movements and he had his custom holo keyboards in front of him and three screens to show information on, a few swipes of his fingers and the prepared paths deep into Ross own network gave up the goods. The firewall of the electricity company that ran the damn went belly up within seconds.

“How did you guess that you’d need that armor because they placed the bombs underwater near the dam?” Ross demanded to know.

“Educated guess,” Tony answered automatically. Loki pressed near and was watching the information dance over the screens.

“Hydra goons have taken over the whole structure. They have taken all the employees and-”

“Sick assholes…” Tony felt nauseous while he watched the grainy tape. Armored men and women were wrapping clunky bomb belts around four of their hostages’ middles. Some of the victims… two were already visibly dead, some were heavily bleeding, two were missing limbs. In the background diver’s weights hinted at the plan.

“The main payloads have been sunk on the side upriver, that will be Iron Man’s main objective, but they plan to line their hostages up on the mural crown and push them over. Those bombs contain bio weapon grade chemicals,” Ross told them.

And when the dam would burst, not only would the water and debris cause widespread destruction, it would spread the poison as well. Knowing those neonazi asshats, they had chosen some truly nasty stuff. The New York area would be a wasteland.

“Poison, a honorless way to fight,” Loki growled.

Tony didn’t let himself be distracted, he was shifting through the available information at top speed, compiling and feeding them into thematic packages. On the periphery he glimpsed metal and leather and knew that Loki had changed into battle gear.

“Captain America and his team have been deployed as well, they will focus on defeating the hostiles. The Army has been alerted and will send troops. Colonel Rhodes, The Vision is too far away to help, you have command over Iron Man and Dr. Strange-”

“Add Mischief to the count, he signed a preliminary contract already,” Tony murmured and dug deeper. Those arrogant fuckers weren’t even trying to disguise what they were doing by destroying the security system, they seemed to be reveling in violence. They were also intelligent enough to rely purely on electronicless hardware for their plan. There was nothing he would be able to turn against them. HYDRA was fanatical, but the people at the top knew better than to use stuff Tony would be able to hack from the distance. But nearly literally Salting the Earth? Maybe the possible end of the world had pushed them completely off the sanity cliff.

“Mischief?” Ross and Loki asked at the same time, the Secretary resigned, the trickster incredulous.

“Well, you need a callsign if you are fighting with us, don’t you? None of us named ourselves I’m calling dibs on yours. Ross, I’m sending you data packages, to Cap’s quinjet as well. They have closed the outlets and damaged the turbines to raise the water pressure behind the wall, we need to get a handle on it fast.” He hesitated, then sent an additional request to Friday and handed a com unit to Loki.

The car swept into the garage and when they exited the back they were greeted by the waiting and ready suits.

One detail made Rhodey stare. “Really?”

“Yes, I’m stacking the deck in our favor. Showing that I’m the bigger man, yada yada.” Tony stripped down to his underwear and had his thumbs in the elastic band of his boxers when he was reeled back forcefully by someone pulling him by that seam backwards.

Then he was pressed, nearly naked, along the fully -battle!- clothed Loki.

“This is not the time for-” Rhodey complained while he prepared his own clothes and the leg-braces for combat readiness.

“Fuck, Reindeer Games you know about my armor kink, why-?” Honestly, Loki was evil, this was the first time he got to see the real deal and not a dream version and the one in front of him was a very fine example of Asgard armor indeed.

Loki purred into Tony’s ear while guiding his hands down the main lines of the leather and metal armor. “Anthony, if you convince me of your worthiness and competence by not getting injured at all, _not one scratch_ , I will let you take it off me afterwards, slowly, piece by piece.”

“Guys, you know that you are already connected to the comline? I did not need to know that.”

“Me neither,” Stephen Strange’s voice joined Rhodey’s.

 

.-#-.

 

Iron Man and War Machine were the last to join the party, but not the battle. Rhodey was of the firm opinion that, if nothing was going to explode just now, there was no reason to risk your neck by charging in without backup. The mages had rendezvoused upstream from the dam and were securing the perimeter. The flight over gave their team enough time to hash out a rough plan of division of labor. Loki and Strange would use their levitation abilities and concealment to try and free or catch the hostages, War Machine’s task was backup for the other team because he would not be able to help Tony,  who would do his best to jam possible HYDRA signals so they could not prematurely blow up everything and diffuse the four main bombs underwater.

Rhodey was consulting with Cap, everyone keeping it very professional, to make sure that they would not double on tasks and endanger each other.

But, as Tony had told Compton weeks ago, the best plan never survived first contact with the enemy. The HYDRA snitch had forgotten to tell, or had been unaware, that the first strike would not occur on the main dam.

A frantic curse over the comline was the first warning, then a plume of dust further upstream drew the eyes of all team members.

“They have demolished one of the smaller dams.” Tony croaked and in his mind’s eye he could picture the mass of water, wood logs and other debris that was on the way to them.

“Friday, ETA?” Rhodey demanded.

“Ten minutes,” came the answer and a satellite picture popped up on Tony’s HUD, mapping out the distance and calculated velocity of the man made tidal wave.

Ten measly minutes was so fucking little time. The schematics and lifesigns told Tony that there was heavy fighting going on in the maintenance building and it hadn’t reached the machine room at all where most of the enemies and hostages were congregating. Cap, Widow, Falcon, and Hawkeye as their sniper were doing their best to cut the HYDRA agents off from their objective on the crown, regular soldiers were storming the front and a small dot told Tony that Ant-Man was on his way to the hostages.

“I can counter the water, but I will have to concentrate and will not be able to help with anything else,” Loki informed his team.

“Do it and be careful. Everyone, you’ve heard Mischief. Falcon, can you support Strange on the front of the dam?”

There was a short pause, most likely Cap consulting with his team, then Wilson answered. “Affirmative. I will join him ASAP.”

Loki teleported away and Tony swept down from high up and fired a few missiles into the group of goons fighting against Cap and Co as a distraction. Not that it was needed per se, the Hydra goons didn’t look too good. You could say what you wanted about Rogers, but as soon as he entered a battlefield he was an unstoppable force.

“Rogers!!!” He could not resist and blared ‘Shoot to thrill’ from his speakers.

Cap looked up, a fierce scowl on his face.

“Catch!” And Tony removed the shield he had carried on his back and threw it in direction of the supersoldier. He had even refrained from printing something rude onto the front.

He did not wait for a reaction, soared over their heads and dove down into the frothing, dirty artificial lake.

It was neither as deep, nor as dark as the North Sea, but much more hostile. It didn’t take him long to find and reach the first payload. Tony hated bombs when they were not constructed by himself and under his supervision and control. Whoever had assembled these monstrosities had gone for a big bang and not precision. The wrapping, the weights applied to the outside to hold it down, it was a travesty.

Ten, correction, eight minutes? It was a good thing that the vibranium shield was not the only thing Tony had brought with them. “Friday, deploy.”

He could follow the fighting and progress of the others on a screen. Cap was cleaving his way through the enemy agents with War Machine as his tank and Widow defending his flanks.

“Enemies in the air!” Strange warned. He was doing something golden and very strange at the base of the dam but whatever it was, water had began to flow again. Which, great, they needed more capacity for the masses that were on the way.

Enemies? Tony switched to a top view. Of course SHIELDRA had copied the Falcon wings, didn’t it figure? Friday gave him the analysis

“Falcon, Hawkeye! Theirs are based on the 2.7 version of the wings. They don’t bank properly, every hit makes them wonky,” Tony warned and pulled at the tarp that wrapped the bomb. Normal would have been bad enough but underwater, such a… damn it. The tarp was stuck. He would have to chance using his laser.

Ant-Man had reached the machine room and snuck behind enemy lines to the hostages.

A sharp shield and precision missiles were decimating Hydra agents some floors above, but many more enemy soldiers were hiding behind every corner, like an endless supply of dangerous human cockroaches.

The fight at the front was still ongoing, but more and more water was being pumped out of the the dam in a manageable amount for downstream, without even one turbine having been repaired.

Tony cut the last chain and the IronRescue, piloted by Friday appeared by his side. He was sweating and counting in his head, slowly feeding the bomb into the pod, trusting his AI to receive it inside safely and without shaking the explosive. One down.

The second one was easier, someone more methodical must have done the prep work. It joined the first in short order. The third was easy too, but he was running out of time.

“Fucking hell, look at that!”

Falcons body camera showed a unreal looking mass of fog wafting up and up over the upstream water. The turbulences were already in sight, frothing and rolling. The mist intensified and rose and then Tony knew why he had been reminded of dry ice when it got exposed to air. Slowly but surely the surface of the lake was freezing over and when Falcon turned his head Tony could see a floating figure.

“Mischief is slowing it down, but he can’t do anything against all logs and debris, the big ones are acting like battering rams due to velocity,” Rhodey’s deep and controlled voice reached all of them.

Captain America spoke up. “Can’t War Machine’s target missiles destroy the worst? Break them down so they are no danger to the dam? We can finish here, only two more corners and the ones hiding out further down are mainly HYDRA techs, not soldiers.”

“Good idea, Cap. I’m on my way. Iron Man, status?”

“The ice isn’t reaching me. One bomb to go but it has slipped into a crevice and will take more time.” Good thing too that ice floated and Tony was deep down.

A sharp edge had partly unwrapped the last device. Which might sound good on the surface, like less work for Iron Man, but it had gotten so scrapped and tangled up that it was actually resembling a gordian knot. Alexander had shown how to solve it - with a sword instead of a laser, but he hadn't been underwater either.

Explosions sounded in Tony's ear, making him wince. Not down here. He ignored every distraction and cut the last anchor point, lifting the bomb.

“Up you go, Fri, as high as you can! The airspace should be clear. Disconnect before it explodes, baby, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“My pleasure, Boss, and don’t worry.” The rescue ignited its repulsors and began to rapidly rise.

Iron Man followed. “Task finished, War Machine, the bombs are on their way to destruction at a safe distance.

“Good job! Help Cap.”

Tony spared one look with his own high resolution cameras at Loki’s position and winced. It was too brightly blue, with the mage at the center directing an eerie blue light at the water below.

An armored enemy falcon with a laser gun in their hands swept down onto the floating figure. Before Tony could call out a warning something struck the flyer and he went up in flames. Tony was very familiar with the effects, he had spent hours on perfecting those explosive arrows.

Hawkeye was perched on the highest point of the dam crown and was releasing one arrow after the other, keeping War Machine’s, Falcon’s, and Strange’s backs free. And Mischief’s as well.

A victorious shout and then an all clear made it unnecessary for Tony to enter the building.

 

The dam was safe.

The HYDRA agents were in custody or dead

The hostages freed.

They had won.

 

And there was not one scratch on Tony.

 

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are all so cool, I was biting my tongue while I devoured your comments. It's minor torture (but I love it) to read your thoughts but being unable to say anything because the answer is part of the next chapter. You inspired me to clean up one of my drabble outtakes, it's here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/13495032/chapters/30947978  
> I used Clint for an introspection, which is a little bit counter intuitive but it worked for me.
> 
> The next chapter needs a lot more tweaking (don't expect fast updates) than this one, but the story is at a point where I don't leave you hanging with a major cliffy. It is finished, don't worry, but I do not want to mess up the ending.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not beta read

Ross was rubbing his hands, a pleased smile making his moustache jump and quiver. “Excellent work, everyone. Now, gather around you will travel back to New York together.”

The Avengers stopped what they had been doing, mainly readying their gear for transport and trying to ignore each other, when the Secretary of the State, accompanied by some bodyguards and a media liaison hurried up to them. They only knew about that detail because Ross introduced him.

“For debrief? We are all ready for a shower and some rest, can’t it please wait until tomorrow?” Rhodey politely asked.

Tony threw away the rag he had used to get the worst of the motor oil off his fingers while keeping an eye on a very quiet and white around the nose Loki. The engineer had helped to get one of the turbines functional again and it had been messy work, while the mage had still held his spell in place until the water had evened out. No matter what Loki wanted his audience to believe, that had been exhausting work. And now some after action meeting?

Debrief generally didn’t evoke the glee Thunderbolt was oozing. Annoyance, tired dread and guilt, yes. Glee? No.

“No shower, no clean up. We want you authentic! None of you are more than a little bit banged up, so off we go. Chop, chop!”

This was one instance where everyone on the team was of one mind: what the fuck?

Rogers was taking a deep breath, clenched and opened his hands to fists. “Mr. Secretary,-”

“News helicopters have transmitted parts of your fight live, people are demanding to see their heroes and we will give them the opportunity. Sarah Veil has already shifted tonight’s live interview with Angelina Jolie to another date to make room for you, isn’t it great? Ambassador Compton will meet you at the studio. Captain, you will be able to put your expert knowledge about performing on a stage to good use once more. I am counting on you. Isn’t that marvelous?”

Ross should check the evil overlord behaviour list and compare to his tells.

Dragging their dysfunctional, post battle-high asses onto a live show was such a horrendously bad idea.

“You do not want to upset people further, do you?” Ross’ eyes were slits of satisfaction. “Now, be good!” And with those words he strode away to his waiting helicopter, leaving the media liaison behind.

Tony could see that Rogers was ready to explode and while he understood completely, this was not the time. He really did not want to, but among all of them only he and Romanova (who was not moving a finger) were the only ones who might talk some sense into the blond. Tony crowded Rogers away from the watching toady, wrestled his former friend around until they were with their backs to outsiders.

Normally that would have gone as well as David trying to manhandle Goliath. Damn, that supersoldier was a mountain of muscles! But Cap was at the moment, even if he didn’t want to admit it, feeling bad about the last time they had gotten physical with each other and did not put up much of a fight.

“Rogers, put a lid on it and use your brains, not your guts. He is playing you. I know you are a strategic thinker. Why is he poking at one of your known sore spots and why is another representative, a foreigner, going to be with us on stage?”

Rogers huffed.

“No, really Steve, Stark isn’t wrong.” Wilson who had followed them interfered.

They watched the muscles in Rogers’ jaw twitch and his nostrils flare. Tony tried to formulate another argument when the super soldier spoke up, a lot calmer than before.

“He wants us to misbehave. Because he wants proof, in front of everyone, that we might be needed but that we are volatile and should be closely monitored and controlled. Compton is there so Ross himself isn’t seen as failing to keep us in line.”

“Bingo.” Tony stepped back.

Rogers snorted bitterly, picked up the shield and stalked towards the quinjet. “And that is the sort of man you chose to follow Tony?”

Tony spluttered and tried his best not to stare at that damn vibranium discus. “No, Rogers, but I know the difference between an asshole supervisor and an illegal order. You have to live with the first until you are asked to follow the later!”

Rhodey flung his arm across Tony’s shoulders and hugged him. “Ignore Captain Privileged, if I rebelled because my CO was incompetent or stupid I would have never made it beyond boot camp.”

There was nothing wrong with Rogers’ hearing. He did not turn around but the skin in his neck colored bright red.

It was an uncomfortable and very silent flight back to New York for the most part.

“Tony, I do not intend to sound like a nag, but your doctor said you should drink more.” Loki handed him a glass containing something fizzy and green.

“Hm, looks dangerous.” Tony took the offered beverage. “And here I thought I had enough of dangerous liquids today. Oh, not bad, a little bit tart.”

Loki sat down and stretched out his long legs.

“Not quite the after battle celebration you are used to, hm?” he leant against Loki and murmured. “You all right?”

Loki didn’t seem to care about the eyes that were more or less obviously observing them, he pulled up the armrest up and out of the way, slid sideways and put his head in Tony’s lap, his way of demanding a scalp massage. “Do not worry so, Anthony. I am simply not used to freely calling on my powers this way. And while I would love to devour half an ox to replenish my energy stores, there are no chants in the feasting hall, there is no carousing, nobody is accusing me of being weak and nobody is copulating in front of my eyes to annoy me.”

“That last point, may we please not add it to Earth’s post battle traditions either?” Strange waved a finger at them, but he didn’t seem too worried, he had a book in his hand - no, the book was held up by the cloak and the sorcerer was only turning the pages.

Tony loved playing with Loki’s hair and did not need an engraved invitation to do so now. “We’re both fully clothed Snape, no need to fear for your virgin eyes.”

“My hair is too stylish to fit that role Stark, try again.”

Tony laughed and went back to petting his own sorcerer and drinking his juice, feeling more centered by the minute. “Why don’t we call Jor? It’s slightly past his bedtime but he should be up, he is so unhappy when we are both gone from home. Maybe talking to us will allow him to go to sleep without nightmares.”

“Hm, good idea. Modern Midgard has its advantages, I have to admit, video calls are one of them.”

They ignored the other people in the cabin and concentrated on more important things.

.-#-.

Awed stares and pointed fingers followed the strange caravan of superheroes on their way through the building to the correct studio.

“Lady and Gentlemen. Thank you for your service today.” Barbara Compton was waiting for them in the green room.

They greeted her in turn and shuffled into a semi circle around the Ambassador. It should have looked funny, eight dirty, fully costumed superheroes surrounding an elegantly clad elderly woman who was 5,5 feet without heels. Compton scrutinized them closely. “Well, I am truly sorry that we didn’t have the time for you to refresh yourselfs.”

“Eau de battlefield. It’s, according to Ross, for the sake of authenticity. Blame the Secretary, we all do.” Tony grinned and waved at the wan looking liaison.

That odious little asswipe Ross had saddled them with had locked himself into the bathroom, with the key for the second one on his person as well and dire threats if they went against his orders.

“This will not do! What does he think we’ll prove this way? That we are barbarians who do not know how to install a wash basin into our high tech jets?” She whirled around. “Please tell the host that we need fifteen more minutes. She has enough video material to bridge the gap. And you - go wash the filth off, the restrooms are around the corner!”

“You heard the lady!” Rhodey was the first to hurry out of the room with only Strange, Loki and Tony staying behind.

Tony looked beseeching at Loki. Public restrooms were, for him, minor torture. But he was intimately aware of the wonders of clean up spells. “Snowflake? Please?”

A second later he felt much better and definitely smelled better.

“Thank you.”

Compton had witnessed that byplay. “Why didn’t you do that for everyone?”

That was an astonishingly naive question from the normally astute woman. “Most of them would have freaked.”

“Ah, yes. Now, it is a good thing that we can exchange a few words in private. About the show - Secretary Ross has a peculiar way of handling things. The live audience in the room has been shown a compilation of video material about each of the eight Avengers who are present today.”

The only one who had managed to wriggle out of this was Lang. Calling attention to his identity and abilities was not in anyone’s interest. Villains would invest in anti ant tactics en masse, as would every bank and security company.

Tony had a bad feeling about this live show. “Tell me he screened the audience and didn’t simply use the ones who were originally here for Jolie?”

Compton shook her head, the lines around her lips deeper than normal. “That isn’t the problem. We made sure to avoid possible conflicts on that front. No one who should have a beef with any of you should have been included and we have tight security. No, I have to offer you my word that it was not my choice to act this way but we had surveillance on Agent Barton when he visited you.”

Loki nodded but did not react further or admit to knowing anything.

“Ross had one of his techs add snippets of the conversation to the compilation they showed in the first half of this show. Nothing too intrusive, but Prince Loki’s part and ordeal during the invasion was included.”

Tony and Loki focused on each other. Loki had chanced a leak when he hadn’t destroyed the spy spell, now they would have to bear the results.

“I am not happy about it, but thank you for warning me. Will I have to speak about it again? It is…” Loki looked away as if he needed to compose himself again.

“No, there will be no live questions and answers.  The audience was asked to write down and hand in cards with questions and they were told that certain topics would be too sensitive for being dragged into a live show.”

The door opened and Romanova returned, her hair wet and her face sans dirt, blood and makeup. A bruise on her cheek contrasted starkly with her pale skin. She was closely followed by the others, in similar cleaner states. Compton got them up to date about the general guidelines surrounding the event and warned them that it was not her who had screened the questions and to expect some doozies.

A sign on the wall lit up, telling them that the commercial break was imminent. Sarah Veil hurried into the room and immediately began to babble at them.

“Gosh! The Avengers!I couldn’t believe that I would have you on my show tonight, hello everybody! Now, I know this is strange for you, most of the Avengers have never been on live TV before and I’m going to do my best to make you comfortable. Wanna have you willing to return another time!” the energetic brunette in a quirky tartan dress hopped up and down in her excitement.

“You look a little bedraggled, but that’s ok, Jody here is a miracle worker with a little powder and trust me, you don’t want to look like the walking dead and that’s what the spotlights do to everyone.”

They did not have to open their mouths, she was talking enough for everyone. The host appeared friendly enough, but all her babbling was making Tony’s head spin. Maybe that was her spiel? Make everyone fall for her ‘hail stranger well met, I’m not very bright and harmless’ attitude?

They were herded out and on the stage, the iconic ‘Talk, Talk Sarah!’ set-up with a New York night skyline was in the background and enough cream colored upholstered armchairs for everyone had been prepared.

Tony did not know how it happened (and would suspect magic if it wasn’t Compton’s doing) but somehow she managed to seat everyone without being too obvious in adhering to the interpersonal demarcation lines between the different Avengers.

The spotlights weren’t blinding them, the camera team was much too experienced to commit such a beginners’ mistake, but they were too bright to allow anyone on the stage to get a good look at the audience behind the wall of light. But they could hear them. Excited whispers and a few shouts assaulted the tired heroes.

“Hello everyone!” Sarah hoppe onto the desk and let her legs dangle. “Here they are, the Avengers, like I promised. I don’t think I need to introduce them, but I want to, so here we go! Sam Wilson, the Falcon right beside me and I have to say, wow man, as someone who gets airsick, watching you fly is something else! Then Steve Rogers, Captain America!”

The applause swelled up.

“Dr. Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme, Natasha Romanova, the Black Widow. Don’t drool too much boys and girls! In the middle we have Dr. Barbara Compton from the United Nations, we spoke to her already during the first half of the show and at her other side is ‘You know who I am’ Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man. The man at his left is a new member and wow, that was a surprise, wasn’t it? Prince Loki of Asgard, and I was told his Avenger name is Mischief.”

Of course the gorgeous bastard didn’t restrict himself to a wave or nod, he stood up and bowed, underscoring his tall frame, exotic appearance and otherworldly armor and then sat down again, a faint smile on his face.

“Huh, you are very tall!” Sarah giggled and went on to the next guest of honor. “I’m so very happy to have seen him walking into this room, please give a big applause to Colonel James Rhodes, War Machine!”

Rhodey got the loudest one yet and Tony clapped too.

“And the last seat is for Clint Barton, Hawkeye. Never let it be said that a bow is useless. That was some impressive aim and shooting today. Now, I said it before, those eight have had a long day and we don’t want to cause them too much stress, this is meant as a way to get to know the people behind the big damn heroes reputation, not analyze their motivations and past. Maybe another time?”

The audience cheered and Tony knew without consulting the others, that they were all thinking about how to avoid returning here.

“Since I have lots of cards-” she fanned out her stack. “and not endless time, let’s begin. First question is for Steve Rogers.”

Of course it was.

“Ma’am.” Cap nodded at her in his typical old-fashioned way and the happy go lucky barracuda among talk show masters honest to god blushed like a schoolgirl.

“So cute. OK, here we go. ‘Cap, your reservations surrounding your initial refusal to sign the Sokovia Accords, are they resolved?’” She wrinkled her nose and held up the card accusatorily. “I thought we would not do the heavy stuff? Bah, I say he would not sit here if nothing had changed, but hey, let’s hear it from the source!”

“It is a work in progress but yes, I am much more comfortable with the Accords now.”

Tony kept up his easy smile and shored up his masks so they would not slip. Thank fuck, someone must have worked on Rogers.

“Great! We ordered these a little bit so it would not come out too hodgepodge.”  She reached for the next card and it became clear that someone had indeed screened the questions because Tony did not believe for one second that curious and nervous crowd would not come up with better stuff to ask than questions about how New York had changed in 70 years, if Strange used a dry cleaner service for his red cloak or what Natasha used as a moisturizer cream for her skin.

Though the expression on the Black Widow’s face when faced with that question had been hillarious.

But among those harmless fish sharp toothed hunters were hiding. The next one was why Barton wanted to only be a part time member suddenly?

Clint managed to answer it without dragging his family into the spotlight.

All of them were aware that one outright and damaging lie was all Ross needed to pounce. And if that meant that Hawkeye admitted that he was still suffering from the aftereffects of the mind control during the first invasion, then so be it. And if it meant that Compton had to add that this segued to the question of why Wanda Maximoff wasn’t here? Then the public got to hear that Maximoff’s untrained skills had been exacerbating the issue for Agent Barton. After all, it was the truth and if they had to chose between Hawkeye’s reputation and Wanda’s? Rogers might gnash his teeth, but apart from him everyone was on Barton’s side.

One of Sam’s old VA group members was in the audience, which led to an emotional little exchange and attention to the issue of traumatized war veterans, which was very much Cap’s speed and a few minutes were spent on a short discourse about social security and public awareness about those wounded heroes.

The vibe inside the room got more relaxed and some light bantering sprung up between the individual Avengers without their host as a referee. It was bittersweet, because it smacked of ‘might have beens’.

Then a card dropped another bombshell, again directed at Captain America.

“Why aren’t we seeing a reunited team. You’ve always spoken about your team as your family, Captain. But the team is fractured. Are you still fighting among each other and isn’t that bad for everyone?”

Compton deftly intercepted the microphone before it could reach Rogers. “Team as family is a wonderful concept but it isn’t practicable in the real world, nor is family a guarantee for a harmonious relationship. I only have to think of my own extended family, I think nearly everyone here in the room will agree, there is always that one uncle you would rather up-end your glass over than sit down for thanksgiving dinner with.”

Amused snickers and chuckles coursed through the room with a few startled laughters mixed in. Tony stretched to reach Rhodes ear. “She’s getting pretty feisty, we’re a really bad influence on her.”

Unfortunately one of the directional mics must have been pointed at him and with a small delay his words were delivered to the room, to the startled amusement of nearly everyone.

Compton shook her head and sighed. “Thank you for that charming comment, Dr. Stark but I was born feisty. Going back to the point I tried to make, there’s a second thing to consider. We have enough Avengers for two team and today showed that they can work together if needed. As a long time career politician, I can assure you that it is very much possible to professionally and productively work with someone you loathe. It’s not as much fun, but since when is it a requirement of successful work to be fun?”

Cap reached for the mic again, and this time there was no excuse for stalling him. “Ambassador Compton said it better than I could. I really wish we could have already healed the wounds of our fight, but I’m hopeful that we’ll get there.”

Oh, Steve. Tony nodded at the man and hoped he would read it as it was meant, as an acknowledgement that Tony knew that the other was trying. If only Steve understood what the real problem between them was.

Then Sarah turned to Loki and Tony, her eyes twinkling like mad. She took her time reading and then brandished seven cards. “Tony, that was an unusually colored suit. At first I thought I have never seen it before, but then I remembered that nope, not true! I had my editor pull up some pictures.” The TV screen behind her lit up.

The Avengers didn’t need to turn around to watch, they could follow what was happening on small screens on the floor that were positioned with their backs to the audience.

It showecased one of the pictures the Botanical Gardens had published. Jor with his bromeliad and his tiny backpack, IronTeddy peeking out. In all his blue and dark silver cuteness.

“The Dream Defender line of the Avengers merchandize is a hot topic on all websites, the bears are sweet and the idea that some of the profits will benefit abused kids, that’s great. I’ve bought one for my niece and she’s over the moon happy. She loves Vision. But I couldn’t fail to notice that your Jori has a differently colored IronTeddy to those available in the stores. You rescued Jor with that suit, didn’t you?”

Tony nodded. “Yep.”

More pictures of Jor appeared. Some fairly good quality.

“What did you feel when you heard that Iron Man had found Jori?” she directed the question at Loki, avoiding to use the man’s name or title, maybe unsure what would be the correct way to go. The question seemed harmless, but the voracious look in her eyes made Tony cautious.

Sarah didn't wait for an answer and shoved a conversational bomb onto them instead. “Were you happy that your son Jormungand has been finally found?” Sarah cooed sweetly.

Tony felt like he was caught in molasses again, but without a spell. He looked at Loki, unsure of how his partner would react to what could be conceived as a threat to their son. They hadn't released this information about Jor yet. Fuck.

And it was an attack, all right. Tony would obliterate Ross.

Tony flung his arm across the backrest of Loki’s chair and used the move to press against him a little bit. They exchanged one short look, tilted their heads and then went on the offensive. If this little twit wanted a show, they would deliver. There was no good way to deny it anyways.

“Happy? I wouldn’t say he was happy.” Tony chuckled and blew out air, combined with a shake of his head and let his words sink in before speaking up again. “Sarah, you remember my little speech when I introduced Jor during my last press conference?”

The one where he warned everyone that he would not play around where the security of his kid was concerned.

Sarah Veil nodded, a smug smirk disguised as a smile on her lips.

Well, she had been warned. “I’m harmless in comparison to his father. Loki cursed at me in this really soft, low voice and promised to to unspeakably awful things to me if I harmed Jor in any way. You think momma bears are impressive? Try a thousand year old enraged battle mage in defense of his son!”

Yes, girl, chew on that. Tony observed how she swallowed drily.

Loki looked at Tony, his lips twitching. “Anthony was having none of it, of course, and sassed right back but at first I could only observe from afar and not alter my messages. It took some time for me to established more than one sided missives before we actively conversed with each other. By then my rage had abated some, I was mainly grateful. My son had been found by a good man and was given all the help and care he desperately needed. I came to Midgard as soon as I was able to, but in the meantime I learned about your world through Anthony’s eyes and his kindness.”

Their tag team domination of the narrative left Veil gaping at them. Not only her, most of the Avengers, with Rhodey and Compton as the exceptions, were staring.

“That’s what Loki says now!” Tony threw his head back and chuckled loudly, invited the audience to laugh with him. “It wasn’t smooth sailing at all. At first he mainly hissed accusations at me and we fought a lot. You know, meeting him again, even via mage messages and not in person was not giving me the best impression about him. Considering the circumstances of the last time I saw him on Earth, I wasn’t inclined to cut him any slack either .”

Loki smirked, let some of his deviousness shine through. It made him more attractive.  “What did you expect Anthony? You insulted my manliness hence I threw you out of a window.”

Tony winked at the camera. “It’s late enough that we don’t have to worry about kids watching, but - just to make sure, that’s not how adults should behave, don’t take us as role models.”

“The way you are making it sound, that hints at flirting, not death threats.”  Veil stuttered, her cards abandoned on the desk beside her.

Half a grin, a small shoulder shrug, subtly shifting nearer together and another short shared look was all the answer they gave her.

Veil blinked slowly. “Huh. Enemies to lovers. That’s wow, ok. very romantic?”

The audience seemed to be more sure than her about that, from the whispers and amused shouts, some catcalls.

“In hindsight and adding space opera style drama, yes, flirting is what it boiled down to. But it wasn’t seriously meant to go that way at all when it began, a side effect, you know? I stress, I flirt, I fight. Sometimes simultanously. But it wasn’t anything personal at first. And about Jori... I didn’t dive down to that cave with the intention to find a five year old helpless kid, nor suddenly receiving intergalactic calls about not feeding that kid spicy food and bedtime.” Tony spread his fingers and smiled brightly.

“Then he arrived on Earth, we got to know each other better and, as they say, the rest is history.”

Loki took over again. “I was so surprised when I found a safe haven on Midgard for my son. I could have chosen another Realm and taken Jormungand there after reuniting with him here. But my son loves Anthony very much and I had learned to really appreciate Midgard. Then we interacted more and… well."

Loki squirmed in his seat. "Beyond any personal reasons, even though I was not myself during the invasion, I still feel guilt and I want to offer some recompense in the form of defending this planet. I’ve seen the missives and the little gifts and to think that Midgardians would show so much support to my son.”

Everyone was spellbound by his words but- Tony pressed his leg against Loki’s and hoped he would understand it as a warning. His drama prince should not overdo things. Loki pressed back and fiddled with his long coat.

“You might have heard about it, but I’m adopted, yes?” The mage’s smile was half hearted, pained and a little tired. Perfect to gain sympathy from their audience, but a lot different to the outright anger and sizzling deadly cold pain he had shown when ranting about this to Tony.

“Yes, we heard rumors. There’s stories about it in the poetic Edda as well,” Veil nodded.”But they also name you as Odin’s best friend.”

“Odin All-Father rescued me as a baby from exposure to the cold during the last great war against Jotunheim, and took me home. He raised me as a son and never told me that I was not Æsir at all.” He looked down, seemingly to compose himself and then angrily bit his lip and tossed his head. “Jotuns are the sworn enemies of Asgard and many citizens hold deep grudges about past battles and wars and don’t differentiate between the original perpetrators and descendants. It’s now known what I am, what race Jormungand belongs to because he is my son. I fear they would not be... kind.” He stopped and snorted, then raised his chin proudly.

“That sounds dreadful!” Veil exclaimed.

Loki nodded. “Things work differently on Asgard. But that’s in the past now, can’t touch us anymore and we have a new home.”

“Anyways, we are lucky to have Prince Loki on Earth now.” Compton interfered. “We can use all the help we can get, can’t we?”

“Yes, of course.” Veil uped her beaming smile. “We’ve run overtime but I don’t think anyone can complain, we learned a lot of things about our heroes. One last question and then we’re letting the Avengers go home and relax, they have earned it.”

“And that question would be?” Rogers inquired.

“Will you win against the Chitauri?”

It was Barton who answered for all of them, short and succinct.

“We’ll win.”

They had to.

TBC

 


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not beta read

Loki could have teleported them back to Stark Tower but this was not the UN building where everyone was aware of the mage’s nature, here there were lots of people around who loved to publish gossip. People could not simply disappear in front of their eyes, it would give someone ideas about loopholes in security and privacy. It was not a good idea to encourage them, thus the traditional and boring way home it was, via car.

Unfortunately waiting until the audience had left and the way was clear also gave Steve Rogers the time to speak to Tony. That he had not done so immediately after the live show ended had created a false sense of safety.

Roger was highly intelligent, there had never been any doubt about that, and he knew how to maneuver. Tony could have cursed himself for not paying more attention to the rest of the room when Wilson had pulled him aside to discuss his wings. When Rogers cleared his throat it was only the Avengers in the room, everyone else had left, or been shoved out. Tony did not care how it happened, only that he had been stupid enough to get caught.

At least he had not been the only one unaware. Rhodey who had been speaking with Rogers until now, and Loki who had been deep into shop talk with Strange got alerted by the sudden silence and were now watchful and scowling respectively.

“Tony.”

“Rogers.”

Hearing the surname made the super soldier wince. “I wanted to thank you for giving back the shield. I hoped it was another sign that you have forgiven me.”

And there it was. “I did it because you are phenomenally good with that shield and I know we need that to win. Nobody else with your battle experience and skill set has the muscle power and experience to calculate angles and ricochets on the fly. Your friend Barnes might, he is a super soldier too and as a sniper he knows all about calculating shots, but it’s you we need to be as effective as you can be on the battlefield. It does not mean that all is forgiven and forgotten.”

“Don’t be so petty, Stark.” Of course the ultimate agent provocateur had to interfere.

“Nat, don’t. I hurt him.”

“But he’s now milking it for all it is worth and beyond.” Romanova sneered.

“Excuse me for nearly dying.”

Maybe he should not have said that and not because the kicked puppy look was back, but because Loki now had a murderous glint in his eyes.

“What more do you want me to do?” Rogers finally overcame that conversation bomb and was back to being confrontational. People shifted around him, Wilson and Romanova  held position left and right of Cap.

To hold their leader back from losing his temper, or to back him up was anyone’s guess.

Strange looked displeased and Barton watchful. Them Tony counted on as keeping the situation from going violent. Loki and Rhodey were mirroring Wilson and Romanova.

Loki bent down until his breath tickled Tony’s ear. “I have warded the room for privacy, Stephen has helped when we saw what was about to happen. I asked Friday to do the same on the technological side.”

Thank god, literally. Now to deal with the moron.

“Accept the situation and move on. That’s what I want you to do.” Tony bit out, knowing that neither his stance nor his tone of voice would help. But he could not find it in himself to fake anymore.

“I can’t! And I can’t accept that you seem to have thrown me away for making one emotional decision, for choosing my best friend over you. You demand that I understand that you went berserk because of the shock of seeing your parents killed, but you can’t understand that I was not thinking clearly in Siberia because I feared for the life of my best friend?”

There was no mistaken the cool hand in the small of his back for someone else's and Tony leant back into the support Loki offered. Rhodey shifted, the frown on his face deepening.

Tony couldn’t believe how Rogers could cut away the most important aspects of what went wrong in Siberia, like his longtime lies and Barnes standing there. Did he really think this was all about the fight and leaving the bunker? That was a huge point of contention, yes. But it mainly illustrated the real problem, that the super soldier would never admit that he could be selfish beyond reasonable self-preservation. Cap was too invested in lying to himself. And that was why Tony could not trust him anymore.

Although they had made some progress, because Rogers seemed to be more aware that he had actively hurt Tony, but there was such a long way to go and Tony did not know why he should bother. He was growing less and less interested in what might greet him at the end of the road. He had supportive friends, a fantastic (in more than one aspect) partner and a good team now. He did not need Rogers or his approval. He did not owe Rogers anything. The man had no right to demand his attention against Tony’s will.

“Let me out of here.”

“No, we will clear this up now!” Rogers demanded.

Natasha nodded, her eyes sharp but she did not speak up again.

“I am sorry it happened, Tony, but I wasn’t malicious and this has gone far enough. I was honestly of the opinion that you would be alright and yes, should have checked but I was busy with Bucky and how should I have known that your suit would react like that and that you would have no way to get out?”

“How about common sense?!?” Rhodey exploded. “It’s not rocket science, a damaged suit, the cold and the sign of injuries, what did you think would happen? Everything repairing itself?”

Woah, Rhodey seemed to be, by now, a lot more fired up about this than Tony himself.

Rogers was resolutely staring back at them. “Excuse me for not growing up rich, instead poor in a time of war! I didn't have the advantages you all have, of being accustomed to a highly technological world. I do not know enough about the armor to calculate every eventuality.”

“Oh fuck it.” Rhodes spluttered. “Fuck you Rogers and the high horse you rode in on! Is this another spiel on 'little guy from Brooklyn'?”

“Not all of us were born with a silver spoon in our mouths, that is not our fault!” Rogers glared and goon boy and goon girl nodded.

Strange stepped closer, his aristocratic face and educated speech pattern most likely another red flag for Rogers. “No, but I can easily guess what James is so angry about and I am with him. Indeed, poverty isn’t a crime, nor is a lack of education and I deeply resent that you are trying to indirectly accuse us of being snobs for siding with Dr. Stark instead of you. What we fault you for is that you’re claiming leadership, but without making any efforts to rectify your lack of modern qualifications. Rogers, it’s not the forties anymore. You have options, if you did not take them that is on you.”

Captain America stared, clenching his teeth and his fists.

Wilson looked unsure but held his position, one hand on Cap’s arm.

Rhodes had gained control of his temper back, stood shoulder to shoulder to Tony. “I say we ignore, for this conversation, all the other things I don’t like about you. You claim that you couldn’t have known what consequences your actions might have had for Tony. Let’s take it from the top down, eh? Russia wasn’t a tropical climate in the 40ies either, subzero temperatures in Siberia are nothing that should surprise anyone.

A hundred and twenty years after Napoleon broke, confronted with the reality of the Russian winter, Stalin was daring Hitler to try and do better and he failed as well. Oh no, frostbite and hypothermia aren’t inventions of the technological age at all.

Secondly, you claiming that you couldn’t understand how Ironman works. Hah. Nobody asks you if you are able to repair that suit, but as a good, responsible commanding officer it is your obligation to know when one of your fighters has suffered a blow that takes him out of a fight and what that means for their chances of survival! You can claim that you didn’t know until the cows come home, but if you insist on that argument it means that you are either a piss poor leader or that you are thoughtlessly selfish.”

Roger was now very red in the face.

Tony sighed. He wanted to go home. Now. “Guys, leave it. I appreciate the support but it is not helping us. He has one very good point, he was emotionally compromised in Siberia and I was too, that excuses a lot. As long as he leads his group and Rhodey ours his views do not concern us. We can work together if we must and that is all we should worry about. Can’t we go home, please?” he whined the last part and didn’t care how it made him sound.

“Either let us pass or I will remove you.” Loki added.

Rogers sighed. “I am sorry.”

“Me too, Cap.” Tony murmured and shoved his hands deep in his pockets and left the room, his friends at his back.

.-#-.

“We are not talking about Cap anymore. The less we think about him, the better.” Tony firmly ordered and slipped into the back of his car. The computer setup of the limousine was still active and Tony smirked, pushed everything stars and stripes shaped away into a box and concentrated on more pleasurable topics. Like ruining heartless show hosts.

“The expression on your face is giving me shivers.”

“Hm, same here.”

While Rhodey had sounded apprehensive, Loki was projecting something else entirely.

Rhodey twisted to get a better look at the screens. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure that Sarah Green, that’s Veil’s real name by the way, will never try to hurt my child again.”

“If it was another billionaire I’d want to get out of the car because otherwise I would have to arrest you for ordering a hit, but that’s not what you are doing, not your style.”

Files upon files stacked on his screen, Friday and Tony made a formidable team when motivated. And ah, Mrs Green had been a very naughty girl. Those breast and pouty mouth were unmistakable, if younger looking and oh my, she knew how to use her mouth - on a married man. But this alone was not something Tony objected to. While he had enjoyed sex, he had always shied away from being a homewrecker, he would not use someone else’s sexcapades to drag them through the mud. That she, on the other hand, had used one of her little affairs for blackmail, now that Tony would exploit without losing any sleep. One untraceable mail and the wife of a Senator, who was already searching for grounds to divorce him - how convenient - would be one reason richer for dumping him. Fireworks incoming.

Her career? Easily dealt with another message.

Tony hit send. “How well you know me, Platypus. I won’t do anything that prevents her from reaching old age, not even hurt her bank account. I’m aiming for something which will destroy her from the inside. Tomorrow she will get a promotion. Haven’t you seen how brilliant she interacted with all of us? She deserves to be proofreader for all future reports about the Avengers, to spot any inaccuracies, and when she’s not doing that she can help out the other teams and reporters, she had excellent English marks in college. No more dissecting people on live TV, such a shame. Just boring endless stacks of paper.”

A reply  was already in his inbox. Dave must have been online. Only two lines but they made Tony bare his teeth in satisfaction. “I know the CEO of the television company. He’s an amoral asshole, but he has a small daughter he adores and not as a trophy kid either. Dave is influential, doesn’t involve kids in sensational gossip and hates child endangerment. Miss Green will find that within a month nobody will be willing to give her a job where she can do what she likes best, expose and humiliate people. She’ll never get the audience again for hurting my kid but the pay will be too good for her to quit and escape.”

That had been easy. Ross was a work in progress but he would fall as well.

Suddenly he was pressed back into the seat and his mouth was devoured. Licks, bites and a tongue that demanded entry, right now! In front of his wide open eyes the disturbed, wildly spinning holograms were cutting through everything, their blinking lights painting unnatural colors on hair and skin. Cool fingers at his neck, massaging and mirroring the conquering tongue in it’s efforts to simulate deep thrusts that felt divine but hinted at penetration that would be even better.

Tony whimpered, painfully aroused and didn’t know when and how he had wrapped his arms around Loki’s neck but now he was hanging on and kissing back breathlessly.

“Anthony Edward Stark. You are cruel and devious. I love you.” the words caressed his mouth and Tony could do nothing but tremble.

“Fucking hell, you two! Creepily sweet but I told you-”

Tony never got to hear the end of that sentence because Loki teleported them way.

Loki being Loki, he didn’t make sure that Tony landed on his feet. His ass made painful contact with the hard floor instead and he was sitting there, wheezing, in his jeans with the front tented and didn’t know which way was up and what was down, only that he wasn’t being touched anymore. He shook his head and tried to get his bearings back.

Had Loki just-?

“Snowflake?”

They were in the bedroom, lights on, door closed and Loki was standing in front of the window, the fully lit room denying anything but darkness to be seen outside and a near perfect reflection of the room on the glass’ surface.

His lover was fully clothed, his legs spread a little bit and his hands clasped behind his back as was his custom. His armor was a variation on the one he had worn when they first met, but less fancy.

But it wasn’t the armor that was making Tony pant, it was the predatory look on Loki’s face.

“I promised you something.” Loki said.

Tony didn’t move and stayed where he was.

Loki tilted his head and smirked. “Not a scratch on you, hm?”

Tony pulled his feet under him and slowly stood up. “Nope, none. And you’ve kept that armor on all the time, even when we were finished fighting.” Tony didn’t spare the notion that Loki might have done that because he’d followed Ross’ orders more than a sneer.

“I keep my promises and I wanted, what was the word, to maintain authenticity.”

Tony wet his lips with his tongue.

“Or maybe you’d have wanted me to don the one I wore when I threw you out of the window? Reenact a different outcome? You, overwhelming me? Or me getting the upper hand in another way than defenestration?”

“Tempting, but no. No ghosts in our bedroom.” That had been a bad time for them, for Loki more than Tony.

Tony slipped out of his suit and carelessly flung it aside, had everything else follow until he was fully naked. He could see how his casual strip tease was affecting his lover in the way Loki’s breath came faster and his nostrils flared even if he didn’t move otherwise.

People who scoffed that Tony Stark had no shame were right. When it came to being naked he had none. Exposing his arc reactor made him much more vulnerable than parading around with no stitch to cover his dick. 

“Hm, yes. But there are some good crossroads in the fabric of history as well.”

Tony smiled, they were standing so near that he could feel the coldness of the strange leather, like tiny fingers all over him. “What is it you want tonight? When I think of the pictures you’ve conjured up for me with your words, do you want to conquer or be… caught?”

Loki’s smile was blinding and razor sharp. “What do you think, dear Anthony?”

The way the trickster said his name made Tony’s eyes narrow.

He raised up on his toes to reach the tall man’s lips easier. Him naked and seemingly helpless, Loki in his battle splendor, it seemed logical which to chose and that was the first hint, always. “Caught and brought home, but not as a warprize, hm?”

He let his hands slip around and reach for Loki’s made his fingers circle and improvise shackles while leaning in for a close mouthed kiss, just a slow, sensual caress. “Let’s pretend these are unbreakable, some special bonds I have built, just for you.”

Green eyes, smoldering at him. “So, I can’t move my hands now?” He tugged, just enough to strain against Tony’s hold.

And Tony let go. “No, Snowflake, what would be the fun in that? So boring. You can’t leave the room as long as they are on. No clever mage abilities like teleportation.”

“Is that so?” Loki purred and moved his hips so his front brushed against Tony’s.

“I’m not the best inventor for nothing. Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, philanthropist. Haven’t you heard?”

“You left something out.”

“Did I?” Tony smirked and moved his hips in slow circles much more pointed than Loki before, enjoying the feel of leather and hard heat underneath. “How much time do you think I’ll have free for that missing point in the description?”

“None!” hissed Loki, eyes blazing.

“Exactly.” Tony tugged on the pauldrons and admired the engraving, followed them with his fingertip. They seemed to move slightly and he shivered.

“Not only pretty, this has function, yes?”

“Did you expect anything else?”

By now he knew where to find the fastenings. “Well, you love being dramatic.”

“But seldomly without ulterior motives.”

They pauldrons cluttered to the floor and Tony spared them a thought, this was not how you treated precious armor, not at all. But he had more important things to touch and pay attention to. The chestplate was not fully metal, it was a hardened material that was somewhere in between. Tony bent forward and kissed along the crescent moon that was sunk into the surface, making sure to look up and smirk every few pecks.

Until he was dragged upwards for a real kiss.

“I think we’re going to postpone the piece by piece portion of the plan. Want you naked, Snowflake, now!” Tony demanded when he had caught his breath.

“As you wish.”

Yes, this was even better.

They ended on the floor, both on their knees. Loki must have caught his fascinated glance at the glass earlier, because he raised one eyebrow, looked at the cold surface, pointedly back at Tony and then turned until he was facing the outside.

“Fuck.”

“That’s the plan, no?”

That got Tony moving, alright!

If Loki had fought it in earnest Tony would have had a harder time catching his lover’s hands with his own and pressing them to the window pane in front of them and spooning the taller man from behind.

“Keep-” He cleared his throat. “Keep them there. Please.”

This was a position that worked very well with their height difference but Tony did not like it normally, he loved to see Loki’s face when they fucked. He was so expressive and the way the shades of green in his eyes shifted with every emotion was too fascinating to give up just because it would be more comfortable.

But here and now they had the window, acting like a mirror and reflecting everything back at him. Tony could see his hands, dark in comparison to the nearly blue tinted skin of his lover, explore the chest, tug at the small and dark nipples.

They weren’t a hot spot for Loki, not an instant one. Tony knew, would he plan on it tonight, he would have had to be patient, suck on them a good long while to make them pebble and flush. Then, oh yes, then he could drive Loki nearly insane with the smallest tug or lick.

But that was for another night.

The skin just under his ribcage on the other hand was very sensitive from the get go, just like the collar bones. No wonder Loki had an additional layer built in the armor to cover them. Tony stroked, very, very slowly, let his fingers warm a spot up, only to expose it to the cold air again when he passed on.

Loki moaned and shifted, rubbed his ass against Tony’s cock and spread his knees wider apart so Tony had better access, which he understood as permission to raise the stakes.

“Lube?”

Something clattered by his right knee. A clay pot. The stopper refused to be moved. Tony swore a blue streak.

Loki laughed, laughed so hard his shoulders shook, snipped his fingers and the stopper disappeared and the clear, already warm liquid sloshed out and all over Tony’s fingers.

And the floor.

Messy.

Tony didn’t care. He leant back so he could watch, let one hand rest on the bit of skin he had explored and stroked, followed the paths he had already mapped while his main attention was occupied somewhere else.

The wide spread legs would surely expose everything to Tony’s hungry eyes, if his own body wasn’t blocking the view, and suddenly he abandoned his plans for fast gratification, scrambled backwards and pressed his lips, his face against Loki’s lower back, one arm flung around Loki’s hips, reaching for Loki’s cock to caress and stroke.

“This, oh damn, driving me crazy…” He licked, nibbled, watched what his fingers were doing with his check was smushed against hot, trembling muscles and bone. Watched how the furled skin relaxed and let him slide deeper. They had done this before, Loki was not inexperienced and could have taken more without problems but Tony-

He wanted to watch. Watch more than a second. “Keep your hands on the glass, snowflake.”

Good thing that his mouth could run without much of his brain involved.

The rhythm of his fingers, gliding in and out, spreading and exploring deeper matched the hand that was caressing Loki’s cock.

“Anthony! Stop playing.” Loki growled. His voice, when he went past a certain point of arousal, always got deeper and rough. They weren’t quite there yet.

Tony chuckled hoarsely, licked his lips and bent down. Then collected a deep breath and blew it over his fingers and the slick opening they played with.

Loki roared and bucked in Tony’s hands, going wild. “Now, in me, now!”

“You only, had to ask.” They needed a few tries, both too frantic to fuck and be fucked to move in concert smoothly but finally Tony was pressed front against Loki’s back, like before but so much more intimate.

Tight, hot.

Tony gasped, kissed and licked Loki’s shoulder and knew that if he did not get a grip on himself this would be over too soon and Loki the contrary creature that he was, didn’t make it any easier by clenching so sweetly around him and taunting him with every roll of his hips.

Pressing his nails into his own tights, the sharp pain took some of the edge off. Not for long, just enough.

The sound of their moans, their whimpers, flesh slapping against flesh. Sweat under his tongue, hair that got tangled in his own eyelashes.

And the reflection in front. Oh,...

Loki might be on the bottom, but he was anything but passive. He bucked, he clenched threatened, demanded and moved. A force of nature in his arms and Tony could only laugh, howl and ride it out, match every buck with a thrust, every demand with a kiss and growl back when he was challenged.

He knew when he got the angle right, just in time.

Loki shrieked and tossed his head back.

Tony did it again, felt how his body readied for climax and pressed in, caressed the cock in his hand faster.

“Loki! So good, so good… Loki.”

They stayed pressed together, against the window, breathing hard and coming down from their peak.

Loki was the first to raise his head, the first to find his voice again. “Is your technology still active, will you let me go in the morning?”

Tony did not have to think about an answer, even if he needed a second to remember the relevant conversation, it came immediately. “No, not ever.”

“Good.” Loki let his head slink forward, heavy breathing making the back Tony leant on heave underneath him.

Tony didn’t want to move but his the cramps in his legs were winning against the adrenaline in his blood. He raised his head slowly, blinked and did a classic double take. “You painted snowflakes on the window.”

Delicate and beautiful fractals of ice covered the glass. It was most pronounced where Loki was resting his head, under his hands and - Tony laughed, hooked his chin on Loki’s shoulder and looked down to check again, then closed his eyes again and yawned.

“Hm, that is new, I think I would have noticed such intense cold when you come.” Yeah, that would be inconvenient when Tony bottomed.

“You don’t seem to be bothered.”

“Should I?” Tony could feel Loki’s back and neck muscles move and pressed nearer. He could feel how his softening cock was slipping out of Loki and grumbled, tightened his hold around his lover. This and the cooling sweat was what he liked the least about sex.

“Look at me.” The words, halfway between hiss and seductive demand made Tony open his eyes again. Loki had turned his head in his direction.

One fully ruby red eye, partially concealed by messy long black strands glared back at him.

“Pretty. I like red.” Tony snuggled back.

“You are impossible!”

“You like impossible.”

Loki huffed.

“Frost giant, eh?” Tony pressed lazy, half asleep kisses to the skin that was nearest.

“It’s closer to the surface because I used my frost powers so much today. I could have hurt you just now. You know how ugly frostbite can be.”

“I don’t think so. It never spread to me, didn’t feel the cold at all. But now I’m getting shivers. How about we move to the bed? Much more comfortable.”

Tony had no reason to fear the cold. That lay in the past.

Loki teleported them the short distance to the bed and they slipped between the sheets. They had shut off the light, and the ice on the window glittered.

Tony remembered the words Loki had said today. He did not want to think too much about if he had meant them. He knew that Loki might not get the reference or what he was referring to, but Tony felt he needed to say something as well.

“I know.” he murmured and went to sleep.

TBC

 


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not beta read 
> 
> WARNING: discussion of child death (past), grieving

Returning to the Botanical Gardens always made Jor beam, but today he was squirming and totally hyped. He was pressing his nose against the car window and regaled the adults with his plans for today. They would go carve jack-o-lanterns! It made up for IronTeddy having to stay at home.

It was a sunny day but the crisp wind made everyone aware that this was not summer anymore but firmly autumn. Today the pumpkin garden in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden opened for the first day this year. Orange pumpkins of all sizes lined the paths, painted with funny and mock scary faces. When they passed the gate Tony could hear an employee explain to an elderly lady that they had not carved them like classical jack-o-lanterns because it was not consistently cold enough yet for them to last more than a few days before they wilted and turned to mush.

Adults with children were flooding the area and nobody took special notice of them. They did not blend in perfectly, Loki was much too tall, but the other adults were occupied with their own children or their phones so they didn’t pay enough attention.

Notice-me-not magic helped too.

Tony and Loki placidly followed Jor along the paths, Tony with his hands deep in the pockets of his red hoodie.

Another young employee, maybe a student who was using this as an opportunity to earn a little on the side, organized the visitors into smaller groups so the different stations would not get overwhelmed and so everyone would be able to enjoy the attractions.  

At the first fork a old fashioned beverage cart held pride of place, surrounded by gigantic orange, white and green pumpkins. They were big enough to be used by toddlers as garden houses. A vendor was offering freshly brewed tea and beverages. Jor was too eager to select a gourd to be interested in anything else and squirmed while Tony inspected the wares. Young and adult frost giants might not feel the cooler temperatures, but Tony didn’t have a heated suit to compensate for his lack of exotic ancestry. And the funny ceramic mug that was available for a few dollars more was so ugly, Tony had to own one. Totally overpriced, but Tony didn’t let that stop him. He also ignored the startled look when he refused to take the change.  

Yep, the mug warmed his hands fine.

“I do not understand how the traditions of All Hallows Eve could have developed into this.”

“It’s less gloomy and more fun this way. And it’s good for sales figures. It’s all about the money, Lokes.” Tony grinned and sipped. Too sweet, but he wouldn’t drink it every day, would he? “By the way, there’s been no bill for the books you ordered. Did you give them the wrong address?”

Some of those tomes had looked old and rare, the amount owed should have been fairly high. Tony had expected to be contacted by someone from accounting, asking if he had bought them or if someone was trying to scam him. It wasn't what anyone would expect him to order. High tech materials, certainly; Ancient tomes? No.

“Why would you want to see the invoice anyways? I paid a fair price. Is this some strange custom I haven’t heard from? Jormungand, stay in sight!” Loki wasn’t too comfortable with being in the open with Jor, but they could not shut themselves away from the rest of the world forever.

Tony did not know what his face was revealing to Loki, but the other man began to laugh. “Anthony, don’t worry so much, I am better acquainted with how Midgardians trade with each other than my oaf of a brother. I have visited this realm many times in the past and have opened an account at the Bank of England about two hundred years ago. They are well versed in the ways of beings longer lived and stranger than ordinary humans. My riches do not match yours, but I would not want to be your kept paramour.”

Now he knew why Loki had looked for the branch of the bank. As long as it didn’t involve shady business it didn’t interest him further. Tony rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Paramour? Very Shakespeare.”

The rest of the beverage in his mug sloshed a little bit. “Do you want to taste? It isn’t as hot anymore and I think you would like it.” he offered , holding it up.

Loki drank until nothing was left, then he performed his houdini trick and made the mug disappear. “Mmm. Not bad.”

It figured, Tony grinned. Loki had a sweet tooth but didn’t indulge often. And he was a magpie.

“Look at them, aren’t they cute?” A pair of teenagers was staring, giggling.

Tony waved and then, with the ease of long practise, ignored them.

“Tony, father, look, there’s the carving station, come and help me find the perfect pumpkins for our deck at home!”

Jor had made such a woebegone face when they had initially only bought one jeton that the adults had given in. Now three colorful little plastic pumpkins waited to be exchanged for the real deal.

“Go and chose ours as well, Jor.” Tony encouraged him and handed the jetons over. The administration had designed this activity spot to look like an old fashioned farm yard - with a fence so feeble that would keep no real sheep from simply trampling it down - and lots of tables, garbage bins and tarps on the ground to keep the mess to a minimum.

At least a dozen kids were scurrying around on the hunt for their ideal pumpkin with the parents and garden employees at the sidelines keeping an eye on the chaos.

His poor barnacle had until now avoided the other kids, keeping his attention firmly on his family and the plants, only shyly observed the children out of the corner of his eyes. Tony held his breath when he saw another boy stumble into Jor, nearly making him fall flat on his face; but among little kids that seemed to be the perfect conversation starter.They compared the markers they would need to draw on the gourds and then pumpkin choices and were best friends in no time at all. Was it better to pick a round one, or one with furrows and a funky shape?

Tony was content to play a little bit with his phone and glasses, working on his projects on the sly, but with his main attention on the kid. He had positioned himself near a pyramid made of pressed straw. Loki was following Jor around from a small distance. With his black hair and the scowl on his face, the way he hovered over the kid, Loki resembled an elegant momma crow standing guard over her chick.

One of the employees didn’t think it cute though. She had her hands on her hips and scowled.

Tony pulled her aside. Her telling Loki off? That was a disaster in the making.The nameplate on her breast pocket identified her as Molly. “I know, he is overprotective, acts like a typical helicopter parent, but cut him some slack, ok? We had a scare earlier this year. Kidnapping. He’s still traumatised and honestly, so am I.”

Molly’s mouth formed a silent o, matching her wide brown eyes. “Is that why the kid is so shy and jumpy? How horrible!”

“Yep, and J is finally making friends, so no need to worry, look!”

The two boys crouched on the ground with five pumpkins, debating about spooky faces and giggling. Loki was smiling softly too and was on the way back to Tony.

“I’m going to help them cut the opening on top, then they can gut the pumpkins. Kid’s always love that part.” She smiled at them and then went to do her job.

Loki joined Tony and they silently watched, both content.

“Loki? You are him, aren’t you? I thought I was mistaken, but-”

They turned around, Tony was apprehensive as soon as he caught sight of the woman who had hailed them. Loki had enchanted medaillons for all three of them, the other visitors and the personnel here would be aware on some level who had joined them, but until they were away again everyone should ignore their presence. Only the most desperate would have the force of mind to break the enchantment directly.

This woman was desperate.

“Madam?” asked Loki, tensing up himself.

Big gray eyes with slightly smudged eye-liner, a trembling mouth and the way she was standing as if she would shatter any second were unmistakable. She looked around and for a second Tony held his breath and hoped that she had reconsidered, but then she pressed her lips together in resolve. One hesitant step, then another and she held out her hand, holding her iphone out, display up.

It showed a boy, with a big infectious grin, one of his front teeth missing with a soccer ball in his hands.

Tony cursed inside his head and got ready to deflect any aggressive move.

“I’m Anna Palmers. This is Jason. He would be twenty this year but- when the portal opened he was on his way to soccer practise. He did not reach shelter in time, a building fell - he didn’t make it.”

Loki stared down at the picture.

“I watched ‘Talk, Talk Sarah!’ yesterday. I knew I should not, I knew it would upset me, but I had to. It brought it all back and today- at first I thought I was imagining things because you were on my mind.”

Tony’s own first reaction was to look around and make sure of Jor’s position. The barnacle was kneeling beside his pumpkins and was watching Molly carve the tops off so he could begin removing the seeds and pulp.

Jor was completely absorbed in his task.

The woman must have waited to confront Loki until the boy was not in hearing range any longer, which told a lot about her frame of mind and character. Tony crossed his fingers that he was right, but he guessed that as grief stricken as she appeared to be, she was not going to take her pain out on the innocent child.

Tony stepped closer to Loki and wrapped his arm around his partner’s middle. Loki hadn’t moved a muscle. The body contact made him come back to the here and now.

“I am sorry.” Loki swallowed hard, looked at the mother. “I grieve with thee. Anthony?”

Green eyes swerved to connect with Tony’s own and he felt his heart stutter. Loki beseeched him to do something, anything and Tony gave him a shove in direction of their kid.

Mrs Palmer and Tony watched him hurry to where Jor was sitting on the covered ground, kneeling down beside the child.

Every time something like this happened Tony didn’t know what to do and what to really say. Today he had known what was coming, there was no false bubble of ignorance like when Christine Everhart had confronted him about Gulmira.

“Intellectually… my brain tells me that he did not do it deliberately but my heart can’t do the same.” She murmured, her hands were clasped before her chest around her iphone and the poor woman shook. Her eyes never left the tall figure at the pumpkin patch who was hugging Jor to him.

Tony slowly and carefully reached out and put his own hands over hers, plied her fingers open and pulled the phone away. It was a nice phone and the quality of her clothes told him that she was not rich. Everything was clean and well maintained but he knew fashion and her dress and shoes were not anywhere near a boutique level. Yes, he could buy her a new phone easily if she unintentionally crushed hers, but this was one case where that option was just plain wrong.

At the carving station Loki was stroking over Jor’s back, his nose buried in the wild curls.

To the grieving mother the scene must be tearing at her wounds, but Tony could easily guess how his partner must be feeling as well. There was nothing Tony wanted more than to join them and assure himself that his kid, their child, was still alive and here, with them. But he had to act as their shield for now and would hug his family later.

Tony moved to block her view and tried to catch the woman’s eyes, redirect her attention. “Loki would never harm a child deliberately. He… knows your pain.”

“I heard him say that it was his plan, he chose my city and then I ask myself, why not Boston. Or Chicago. And then I get angry at myself because that might mean my Jason got to live but another kid died instead, or that those alien monsters might have won because it wasn’t Iron Man’s home and he… that you might have been too far away and I would have lost both Jason and Gabrielle. And- I can’t.”

Bargaining, anger; All natural parts of the grieving process, if Tony trusted the words of his shrink.

Yes, that leaked part about Loki being the one who had planned the - alby designed to fail - invasion had been the most damaging bit of information that Ross had served to the public.

“I can’t forgive him. I can’t. You say, he lost a child?”

Tony nodded. He did not mention that Fenrir had been slowly tortured to death, this was not a competition of hurt because in the end it came down to the same, two senselessly dead children.

Another woman, in a more stylish sundress, was observing them from nearby and she had a phone in her hand too. Tony dearly hoped that this was a concerned friend or a watchful and kindhearted stranger because he would not allow this pain to be cannibalized by the media. None of them deserved that.

“Fri?”

“Not recording, she only has her address book open.”

Mrs Palmers, despite her tumultuous emotions, had enough awareness to pay attention to their immediate surroundings and had noticed where he had looked. “That’s my friend, Emily. Her Tommy, just like my Gabrielle, wanted to visit Pumpkin Land too and we shared the car ride.”

She pointed at another corner of the carving station where two kids, the girl resembling Mrs. Palmer in skin and hair coloration, were working on their own pumpkins. They appeared to be maybe ten or twelve years old and were just as absorbed in their fun as Jor.

“Alright. I’m relieved that you have someone with you. We’ll go away and can come back to the park another time.”

“No. Don’t cut your visit short. Jori looks so happy. I don’t want to take that away from him. Just-”

“We’re gonna try to keep out of your sight, ok?”

Tony handed her the phone back. He wanted to offer some monetary support, the family was obviously not financially secure but Dr. Stein, his therapist, had tried to explain to him that in most cases he would cause more harm. Tony didn’t mean it that way, he wanted to ease a burden he had a hand in causing, but apparently it would only cause feelings of additional guilt, anger and inadequacy. The first because the grieving party would feel like they were profiting from the death of their loved one, anger at Tony for being in a position that allowed him to hand over that kind of money and feelings of inadequacy because they needed the support in the first place.

_ “You might think it is helping both of you. The mourner by lessening at least one burden and lessening your guilt by helping personally, but that is not the case.” _

Still, Tony could not simply walk away. “I know this is- ok, I don’t know how to say this without it coming out wrong and I don’t want to insult you and-”

She shook her head. “Just say what you want to say.”

“Can I help you in any way?”

Mrs Parker took a few deep breaths, eying him for a long time. “When I first recognized him, I wanted him to be a monster but he isn’t, is he?”

Tony shook his head. Loki would always do what he thought was needed to succeed and this could not be the first time he was faced with the less clean side effects. But he was not cold hearted. Both of them would get in far less trouble if they were.

She bit her lip. “My husband is a Marine, a Gunnery Sergeant. I had nine years to try and rationalize what happened and I know my pain will never go away. Rationally I am aware that it was not on purpose, not malicious, and I know about civilian casualties in a war. How can I not, with my Brian’s job? I don’t want your money Mr. Stark. I want my boy back and that can not be. But if you really want to help, not as a recompense, you understand, but-?”

“Yes, what should I do?” Tony cut her off kindly before she lost her nerve.

“Gabrielle is a daddy’s girl through and through and she adores War Machine because it reminds her of Brian and my husband is deployed at the moment. She would love one of those teddies.”

And the family did not have the spare money to buy one. The commercially available teddies were a lot less expensive than Jor’s because of the materials used, but they weren’t cheap either.

“Rhodey, that is, James Rhodes is a great guy, I’ll ask him to write a card, if you want to?”

“No, just the toy please.” Mrs. Palmer rummaged through her handbag, one of those gigantic things, scribbled something on the backside of a recipe, glanced at it for some time and then placed it on one fencepost. A stone she picked up holding it down so the wind would not tear it away. She put the phone away and after a last look in Loki’s direction she resolutely turned away. “Thank you for taking the time to speak with me. I have to go and compose myself. Gabrielle does deserve better than to have a day she looked forward to so much destroyed.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Tony waited until she had reached her friend who led her away before he picked up the paper. A teddy would be waiting for the little girl when she came home today, in a plain packaging. And Friday would research the family. Maybe, if he was subtle (and consulted Pepper) he could do something?

“Tony!” Jor hailed him. “do you like my design.”

“What’s a design?” the other little boy asked and carefully drew a wonky line that could, if Tony was generous, be interpreted as an eyebrow.

Jori scrunched up his nose. “It is still hard to explain something English, in English. Design is the plan of the drawing, how it should look in the end, I think.”

“That works kiddo.” Tony praised and crouched down to inspect the ‘design’. He could see that it should represent a smiling face and that it was better than all of their neighbour pumpkins. “Which one is mine?”

“The one with warts! You are always drawing so I knew you would like to do this yourself, but I still have to draw father’s!” Jori reached for the oblong one, his marker ready for action.

Loki nodded and said nothing. The only thing Tony could do was keep near and deflect anyone who tried to interact with the silently upset and grieving man. "We can go home." He offered.

Loki shook his head no.

There was lot’s of new knowledge gained that he could have done without for the next half hour. Tony had never carved a jack-o-lantern before. It had simply not fit into the fabric of his childhood home. The carving he kind of looked forward to, but he had never wasted any thought about what was in a pumpkin. Or how messy it was to get it out of the opening on top. His hands weren’t delicate and Molly had made the opening small. And the tools! A strangely shaped plastic spoon, really?

But it was cute how earnest Jor was and how much he enjoyed the task. They had been given a big bag for the waste and a small one to preserve seeds, if they wanted to grow their own pumpkins next year. Of course Jori was already planning how big his patch was going to be and it had taken a lot of persuasion to convince him that he didn’t need all the seeds, a handful was more than enough.

When they got to the real carving part Loki had regained some color and was actively participating again. Tony would swear though that he had not seen him reach in and poke around the inside of his gourd at all, but it was perfectly hollowed out nonetheless.

Tony eyed the spotless coat and still finely pressed dark trousers Loki was wearing, then his own now glibbery jeans and smeared forearms and hands. Jor wasn’t faring any better but didn’t seem to mind his grubby state at all.

“Cheater!” he whispered but Loki only raised his eyebrow in mild challenge.

Thankfully they had come prepared, with wet tissues and hand towels.

Nobody sane would let kids run loose with knives, it was the duty of the adults or older siblings to finish the last stage. Tony looked at the knife Molly handed him. Nearly handed it back with a quip about bringing something better and sharper which him. Now  _ that _ would have been the definition of wrong impression and hard to explain. He waited until the woman was on her way to the next group before safely storing the… thing away and pulling out one of his handy lasers.

Their jack-o-lanterns turned out the best of all.

When they left the garden, their finished lanterns in bags, Loki, who had remained silent and subdued, turned to the nice girl at the gate, the same that had greeted them when they had arrived.

“Miss? I’ve heard about your problem with the lanterns, why they only have painted faces.”

The girl clearly did not know what to say, or what was expected of her. “Well, Sir-”

Loki opened the bag he carried and pulled out a small pumpkin he had bought additionally to their three now finished ones. It began to glow. He smirked a little bit, and the little fruit suddenly sported a carved grin and a stylized version of Loki’s horned helmet. He levitated it on top of the gate.

People were leaving in tropes, a few adults grumbled, irritated at the hold up and jostled each other to push past their group. The kids were the only ones who seemed to see that something magical was going on, they whispered and pointed at the very special pumpkin and the mage.

“I enjoyed your Garden’s hospitality very much. This is my gift to you and the children of this city. This year, any carved pumpkin that is placed within this garden will not wilt or crumble as long as my lantern watches over them.”

They walked away, leaving a gobsmacked young woman behind and cheering kids.

TBC

 


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not beta read

When they arrived at home the first thing they did was go outside on the deck and place their masterpieces on a crate so they would be visible from inside the livingroom. Tony did not need to ask, he knew that these pumpkins would not wilt either.

Jor admired their lanterns from all directions and adjusted them until they were fitting an aesthetic only the kid understood.

“Tony! We forgot to make one for Friday! Or is she too grown up for jack-o-lanterns? Benji said his older sis did not want to come, not like the year before, because she thinks Pumpkin Land is for little kids.”

“Friday is a person, but she’s not human.” Tony did not know what else to say but thankfully his AIs were often smarter than him when it came to finding the right words.

“Do not worry, I was with you all the time. I’m not human, the Boss is right, and I do not interact with the world like you do. I did enjoy watching you today lil bro.” Friday commented, her voice soft and less energetic than normally.

Jor chewed on that for a bit. “But you could not participate because people do not understand AIs. Do you want your own pumpkin?”

“I would not say no.”

Huh? But ok, if his girl wanted her own lantern, Tony would make it happen. “Are there ‘chose your pumpkin’ websites? Stupid question, there are websites for everything. Friday will find one she wants and have it delivered, Loki will remove the top.”

“I will?” Loki looked dubious.

Jor jumped up and down in glee. “More seeds!”

“Yes, by now you are a champion at hollowing one out, you can do it for Friday. She’ll design her own carve pattern.”

“Today?”

No, he would not fall for the hopeful eyes. “Tomorrow is soon enough.”

Fresh air and running around had tired out the boy anyways. The rest of the day was astonishingly domestic for a household that was comprised of a mad scientist, a Norse God of Mischief and a shapeshifter kid. The adults, while consulting with Dr. Foster via conference call, did their best to iron out some problems they faced with the USAGI project, Jor spent the evening in his serpent form lazily hanging in his tree.

Tony munched on some dried blueberries and looked outside. A wonky grin, an artistic rendition of a nature spirit he had forgotten the name of and a comic hulk grinned back at him. Tony had objected to real candles and had insisted that this was his component to provide. Now artificial orange bulbs flickered inside the lanterns.

Three pumpkins, tomorrow four. Still, it should be five. One older sibling was missing and Tony knew that on some level Jor was aware of it. The kid hadn’t asked once when Fenrir would join them or when they would search for his older brother. Jor was too mature in a lot of ways and maybe he had guessed that there would be no reunion and did not want his fears confirmed. Or he was in denial.

Loki had spoken about it shortly after his arrival on Earth. He did not want to upset Jormungand, the boy had only found a sense of security again. But after this was done, after the conflict with Odin was cleared up one way or another, they would have to tell him.

“So much for spending a carefree afternoon in the park.”

At night, inside their bed, Loki had put his head on Tony’s chest, carefully avoiding putting too much pressure on the arc. “The Norns are not known to smile on our brand of chaotic force.”

Tony combed his fingers through Loki’s hair, ostensible to get it away from tickling him in the neck. “It doesn’t get any better, no matter if you pretend to be a hero or a villain, eh?”

Loki must have known that Tony was talking about both of them, he shuffled around until they were lying face to face. “Pretend? I’m hundreds of years old and my culture revers heroic deeds. I traveled the other Realms, they have different perceptions, different heroic figures. Trust me when I say that I have seen a lot of heroes. You might not fit the conventional mold on Midgard, but you are indeed a hero.

“I’m not hero material,” Tony echoed his own words from years ago. “and you are not a villain.”

Loki tugged him closer. “Consider this truth then, you are a hero for Jormungand.”

“We are a sorry pair, aren’t we?”  He could feel Loki’s slow breath tickle against his skin.

They were halfway asleep, cocooned in their bedding and body warmth.

“When I cast my spell at the gate, originally I planned to make the carving resemble a wolf.” Loki murmured, his eyes closed.

“Hm. Would he have liked today?” Tony hitched the covers higher.

“Yes. And Fenrir was always very protective, he would have looked after all the little ones.”

“I doubt Jor will be ‘too grown up’ for Pumpkin Land in a year, we’ll go again and then you can find the biggest gourd to make a special lantern.”

.-#-.

Tony did not know what had woken him up. At first he blamed the cold, he was shivering. But he was held and he could feel the softness of his sheets and blankets and a chest contracting and expanding against his back. Maybe the top layer had slid down. That was easy to solve.

But, cold against his back, while being held? That was not logical unless it was Loki who- yep, it was Loki who was the source of uncomfortable lack of warmth. Nowhere near his frosty powers, but less body temperature than usual. And he wasn’t waking up although Tony had been flailing around. Loki was a light sleeper and always up and about when he himself was still fighting against Morpheus.

“Loki?

No reaction. “Friday, light 15%.”

Loki’s eyes were moving under the closed lids and his mouth was half open. There was no sleepy relaxation to be found on his lover’s face, only tension and anger.

Tony shook Loki’s shoulder. “Snowflake, wake up. It’s just a nightmare.”

“Boss, his heart rate, brain activity and eye movement are similar to those you exhibited when you had, in your own words, dream dimension hook-ups?.”

Not just a regular nightmare then.

“Yeah, but I doubt I was scowling like that.” Tony reversed their position and ordered the blankets around them. There were only a few possibilities about what was going on and the most likely-

“Odin is back on his throne.” Loki croaked and opened his eyes.

“Not a happy reunion, I guess,” remarked Tony.

Loki had sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, sitting there with his head in his hands, bent over. “You guessed correctly. The All-Father is greatly displeased. Not even about the forced Odinsleep, but for my unasked for interference in his politics. That I  _ dare _ to presume to know better than him.”

“Hah, it’s not that unlikely that kids are smarter than their fathers.” Tony sneered. “He did not listen when you told him that the Mad Titan is on the way to fuck us all over. He sat back on his throne and… I don’t know, contemplated his navel or whatever else arrogant asshole god-kings do.”

“Odin did listen. He is well versed in magecraft himself, and the taint of the Mind Gem is unmistakeable. Alas, his counter plans, from the notes I’ve found in the royal quarters, would not please you though. The Mad Titan’s desires aren’t a secret, his thirst to conquer Midgard firmly rooted in the knowledge that your Realm was host to two of the six Infinity Stones. The Tesseract was one and the order of Kamar Taj  protects the Eye of Agamotto. Did you never wonder why Odin has not collected the stones and stored them in his treasury, notably the safest place in the Nine Realms?”

“Bait.” Tony pressed out between his teeth. He did not need additional reasons to hate Odin, but the old gallows God freely provided more. He was generous that way.

“The Tesseract is flawed. If used with the time stone it creates an instability that would destroy the Mad Titan - and a good piece of Midgard.“

Tony punched his pillow into a better shape, shoved it behind his back. His arc reactor illuminated the room eerily blue. He was happy that this core shone in a different hue than the damn cube that was behind a lot of trouble here on Earth. “I know that Strange has the Time Stone. Is the Tesseract by any chance the Space Stone? We never talked about which is which, just the basics.”

“Yes.”

“Then it isn’t flawed. It’s not a bug, it’s a game over feature. Nice to know that quantum mechanics work for magic too. It’s the Time stone that’s the problem in combination with Space. Scientists call it wave-particle duality and if one of the stones or both interfere with that concept, they destroy reality. As long as the Big Bad doesn’t have the Reality Stone as well those two in close proximity are starkiller dynamite. How nice of Odin to set that trap, because you are right, two stone with his tacit approval? Here? That’s deliberate.”

Loki huffed and let himself fall back until he lay across Tony’s legs, pinning him in place. “Thor taking the Tesseract back to Asgard was the first hit to Odin’s strategy but he would have given the Stone back under the pretense of recompense.”

“Trojan horse a la Asgard. Good thing you completely fucked that plan up.” Loki had assured Tony that nobody would be able to wriggle out of the contracts and vows, Odin could not suddenly ‘change’ his mind.

“Let’s forget about the end of the world. What about Jor? Should I install a bigger cannon on my terrasse so I can blow a few Asgardians up when they come knocking?”

Loki sprung up and began to pace the room, completely unconcerned that he was naked. “You would think he would now accept that he made a mistake, but oh no, not Odin. To him Jormungand has and will always be a monster. He accuses me of twisting the truth, as always, to conceal the true nature of my beastly children!” He whirled around.

“He asked me if my bastard serpent was smart enough to know who to devour when the Mad Titan comes, and that I may have been right to let it be born if it proves to be useful now. The one thing I did right in his eyes seems to be that I did not murder my innocent child.”

Pictures of Jor today at the park, afraid and hiding under the bed, helpless in the water and a thousand other scenes scrolled in front of Tony’s eyes and he indulged in the fantasy of striding up to the throne and then use the uni-beam to burn out that blind monster’s remaining eye.

“I am in need of a shower.” Loki hurried into the bathroom.

The next week was wrought with tension. Tony could measure how well the nightly discussions with Odin went by the size of the dirty towel heap in the bathroom. Loki was a master of not letting it show, but by now Tony knew a few of his tells.

They both got less and less relaxing sleep. Piper and Rhodey made comments about their tired eyes. That conversation ended with two more people who wanted to hack Odin into small pieces.

By Sunday Tony decided that enough was enough. “Can you take me with you into the dream? I don’t want to invent a version of BARF that allows it, but I have a few ideas that might work though if I have to.”

Loki laughed tiredly and pressed his face against Tony’s. “Of course you would.”

“Well, that’s decided then. Ah, just one question?”

Teeth at his neck, then suction. That would develop into a spectacular hickey. “Hmm?”

“You want me to meet Odin with your visible mark on me. Naughty. But that’s not my question. Same rules as with our dreamscape apply?”

“He can’t harm you, if that’s what you are asking but keep in mind that Odin would avenge any offense dealt to him by having you dragged in front of the real throne by his Einherjar.”

Well, Tony could work with that. Oh yes, he could.

“And now I am not tired anymore.” Tony pouted and reached to hook his arms around Loki’s neck.

“That I can help you with.” Loki smiled devilishly,

They could do with a distraction or sleep would never come. If Odin proved to be unmovable they would have a fight on their hands soon. Why not remind themselves in the best way of what they were fighting for?

.-#-.

The beautiful and very comfortable black cushions had disappeared from Hlidskjalf. Odin in all his golden and glowering one eyed glory was not an adequate trade at all. And the fog and golden lights were back as well. Swell.

“All-Father.” Loki - his proud Loki!- went down on one knee, his robes fanned out dramatically around him, in front of the throne.

Tony gaped rather unattractively. Which, ok, Odin was a king and the trickster was a citizen of Asgard and yes, that meant he owed the old reprobate courtliness.

But there was no one else in the dream to observe proper court protocol, this was ridiculously demeaning for no good reason.

“Loki. Why did you bring the Midgardian?”

“I asked him to take me with him. Your Majesty.” Tony tagged on grudgingly.

Odin ignored him and stared down at his kneeling foster son.

“This is Anthony Edward Stark, known as Iron Man and one of the most influential people of Midgard. He asked to be included in this audience to contribute his insights. He has battled the Chitauri fleet and dealt them, nearly singlehandedly, a sound defeat.”

With the help of an atomic bomb and nearly at the cost of his life, but yes, that was a nicely flattering description. Tony bowed and bit his tongue.

“I heard about that, but what might a Midgardian be able to contribute now?” Odin was great at the ignoring game.

“The midgardian heard that you’re trying to make plans on false assumptions, and since I like to keep my planet in one piece, it is in my own best interest to clear it up.”

“His manners are atrocious. Fit for only a  _ barn _ .”

Odin would never respect him if Tony played this game to the old god’s rules. “Wow, and here I thought I would meet a warrior king, not some fobbish wannabe noble on a cushy throne who’s more concerned with useless stuff like the perfect way to bow than the reality of war.”

A faint gasp sounded from the floor. Then shuffling.

Tony stared at Odin. And Odin finally deigned to turn his head to face him.

“He is right All-Father. We are bickering like untried warriors that admire their own shiny armor without ever having faced an enemy.” Loki strode to Tony’s side, his head held high again.

“Then let us hear what you deem worthy of my attention.”

“You are making plans of how to use Jormungand. Is it custom in Asgard, for all the progress and advanced culture it is touted to be, to use small children on a battlefield? Because on Earth that’s considered a heinous and cowardly crime.” Even nearly grown teenagers should not fight and he had been a fool to- Tony shoved the thought away.

Odin banged his spear to the floor. “You are mocking me and I do not appreciate it. Even on your backwater planet you know that beasts age differently than beings of higher intelligence. The World Serpent is over five years old in body, my preservation spell was strong and true; It has to be nearly fully grown.”

“Surely Loki has shown you pictures and movies, featuring Jor in his Æsir body.”

“Loki is not called Silvertongue for nothing! He is a master of weaving elaborate lies and he has been sitting on the throne for a time, is partially accepted as her master!” Oh, and how that pained the old bastard from the way he snarled! “Thus I cannot force his truthfulness.”

“But you can be sure of mine. Never sat down on any throne.” Well, outside dreamland. Tony had lot’s of practice with DreamTV and did not wait for permission that might not come anyways. A clear thought, a poking command and a huge screen descended from the high ceiling. This was one movie Odin would not be able to avoid seeing.

“I’m sorry Loki. But he has to get it into his stubborn head that he can’t pretend differently.” Tony had never shown the father how he had found the son, beyond a general description and Loki had not asked.

On the screen his memory began to play. The dive, the bleakness of the underwater cave and how he had figured out that he had found a prison. The eye. The desperate serpent and their halting communication. The too thin, tortured kid.

Tony did not need to watch the screen, he knew every little detail. He watched Odin instead. The smugness that slowly faded away. He did not dare turn his head in direction of Loki or he would have to stop the memory.

Close ups and slow motion were a bitch, if used to best effect.

He did not think this would melt that old assholes heart, Tony doubted that he had one, but the minutes and early hours of his meeting with Jor were so raw, nobody could accuse anyone of faking anything. 

“Stop.”

Tony did so. Looked at Loki. Saw his pallor. Wanted to touch but refrained. Any gesture of comfort would be counted as weakness.

Odin was sitting on the edge of his throne, his old gnarled hands white on the armrest. His one eye stared unblinkingly at the screen where a fixed image showed Jor clinging to Tony’s neck, naked with the Iron Man blanket around his lower body.

“Swear on your life that these are true and unaltered memories of Jormungand Lokison.”

Loki sharply exhaled.

Tony made the vow without batting an eye.

“Are you now finally ready to admit that you did wrong by my children?!?” Loki shouted.

“I did not know.” Odin growled. For such an old guy he sounded damn dangerous. “When I arrived, called by Heimdall and his warriors, they asked me to judge the monsters they had caught. They did not want to risk transporting them to Asgard. Serpent and wolf were recognized as subjects to a prophesy and could not simply be killed. They told me that you raised them to one day topple the Realm Eternal; out of spite and cowardly jealousy for your brother.”

The golden light dimmed around them, then brightened to nearly uncomfortable levels. Tony wanted to look around because the shadows were dancing on the walls and it made him feel very uncomfortable. He forced himself to concetrate.

Odin waved a hand and the screen transformed into a picture frame which floated to his hand. “Why would you hide your children, if they were perfectly formed, intelligent and talented like you claim them to be?”

“And once again you seek the fault to be with me!”

“Not every question is an attack, Loki!” Odin bellowed.

“Remember Vali and Narvi, the motherless cups I’ve found in the woods? Remember what became of them? Other members of this court were allowed to have familiars, uncontested and adored. But my wolves were feared and as soon as I turned my back they got attacked and later killed. And nobody spoke up in their defense. When Angrboda became my companion and told me she was with child, I was not willing to take the chance that my child might face such adversity. Angrboda was not happy on Alfheim, she missed the court and was dissatisfied with the simpler life we’ve lead. After Jormungand was born, four seasons after Fenrir, she wanted to return to Asgard and I did not give in to her demands. She had thought to have caught the interest of a prince, not a recluse. She left me. I don’t know and never cared about her fate, she left her children without a look back and thus was dead to me.  _ My children were beautiful and perfect father _ !” The last sentence was pained and impassioned.

Odin ignored most of the story. “The wolves were dangerous and you refused to train them properly. You laughed when they chased people you did not like around!”

“They were just cups, harmless!”

And off they went again.

This was impossible. The conflict was too ingrained, in both parties. Even showing Odin the consequences his actions had for his grandchild, in technicolor, hadn’t convinced the old battle axe to give in more than a little. And that he had been horribly wrong, what a novel concept for the king.

Tony rubbed his eyes and then stroked over his goatee. His fingers brushed over the love bite on his neck that had followed him into the dream.

Then a memory of something Compton had said, when she had spotted a similar one, resurfaced and his eyebrows drew together, while he hunted that elusive detail he knew would lead him to gold.

_ “Anthony, it is so good to see that your relationship with Loki is so passionate, but must you try to devour each other?” _

_ Which was unfair, they mostly kept any PDAs to the minimum - ok, mostly -  and what they did in their bedroom (and the car, the workroom or any other space they could be sure Jor wouldn’t stumble into) was their own business. _

_ “I hope you are taking precautions, we need you both tip top battle ready.” _

_ Tony had been aghast that she would lecture him on responsible sex. “You know I’m clean, I have myself tested regularly and additionally some weeks ago and it’s in my medical files. I’ve been practically a monk before Loki for years and we tested him as well. At home, no need to get in blood into too curious hands.” _

_ Compton had sighed. “That’s not what I meant, don’t look so offended. I only want you to wait until you might decide on another kid.” _

_ “Oh, that’s just myths. Loki has never been pregnant.” _

_ “Everyone thinks it can happen.” She had shrugged her shoulders. _

“Everyone thinks it can happen.” Tony whispered.

The two trickster Gods were back to shouting at each other and weren’t aware of Tony and his revelation.

“Hey, shut up for a moment. If both of you did not lie, we have a conundrum and a very important one.” Tony bellowed to be heard over the ruckus. Now both of them looked offended.

By him!

“How well known was the fact that Loki is not yours and Queen Frigga’s kid, that he is in fact a Frost Giant? You came home with him from a battlefield. There had to be other warriors with you who would have seen you with a baby, but I guess you used Hlidskjalf to alter everyone’s perceptions?” The throne’s power was not flawless, all three men knew it.

Odin nodded slowly. “Within two years everybody stopped talking about Loki’s origins.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed and he sought Loki’s, revelled in the steady burning green gaze. He spun his thoughts further, watched as every word sank in.

“But enough people remembered, the prejudice against Jotnar ran too deep. I think that you have all been hoodwinked. You have been used, Odin All-Father, to get rid of someone else’s problem. Isn’t it damn convenient that the prophecies that have lead to this tragedy are proven false - because Fenrir is dead and will not break any chains come Ragnarok - and that they target the two most important political figures in Asgard, guaranteeing your interest in neutralizing them? ”

Most important to Odin, not necessarily Asgard, but Tony did not want to provoke another fight to break out.

“It’s practically asking for murder, or preventative measures, depending on who you ask. Correct me if I am wrong, but Jormungand is foretold to fight Thor to the death-” Tony went on and saw the exact moment when Loki caught up.

Loki reared back, white in the face. “-while Fenrirsulf’s fate according to the seer was to devour Odin and then the sun.”

“That prophesy painted a big fat 'Kill me!' sign over their heads. But why, if they were not a threat. What was the point? Who made that prophecy? Not your mom, she doesn’t seem to have been the type and if that detail in the Edda is, for once, correct, Frigga was not allowed to tell what she saw anyways.”

“It was one of her maids in waiting, Hildegund Bransdottir.” Loki growled.

The puzzle gained a few more pieces. “Who was present in Alfheim before Odin was called to judge the kids? Tyr, Heimdall and a third warrior.”

“Bran. He is dead, a hunting accident.” Loki glowered at Odin. “Not my doing.”

Tony moved his fingers, similarly to the movements Loki favored when casting an intricate spell. “Was one of the three magically talented?  Because Jor can’t alter his size on his own. But no, let’s not concentrate on that, it’s not an important detail, they could have called someone before Odin arrived and he simply never saw the person. I think the question here is not who wanted to get rid of the kids, but what did they want to prove to whom? Why did they want to establish Loki as the _mother_ _of monsters_?”

From their faces they had followed his train of thought to its conclusion. For all that the two gods were not related by blood and of different race they shared exactly the same murderous look at the moment.

“You are correct Anthony, I see it too.” Loki sneered. “It was always about Thor.”

TBC

 


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not beta read

Thunder, lightning. There was a localized  thunderstorm brewing exactly over Stark Tower, slowly twisting around a central eye, all dark and gloomy.

Loki and Tony had both tried to get him to reconsider, but Odin had not given them much time to prepare, barely a full day. The All-Father wanted this to be resolved, the traitors caught, and fast. Odin had been coldly frothing, which was a strange combination, but hit the nail on the head. His own despicable behaviour Odin had not shown any remorse about, but other people’s similar actions were high treason, didn’t it figure.

They were waiting on the terrasse for Thor’s arrival. Which had not been in their plans. Odin should have sent one of the guards, not his son. The lightning above them told a different story. The old bastard had either decided that he knew better or -which was what Tony was placing his bet on - Thor had again taken the orders of the King of Asgard as suggestions and not decrees. The blond was consistent like that.

Loki stood at one side of Tony both looking up at the turbulent sky. Jori was clinging to Tony’s hand between them. Loki had insisted on carefully selecting clothes befitting an Æsir prince. The tunic, girdle and leggings were cute, all in green, black and gold of course, but Tony did not like how foreign his kid looked like that.

“Good thing that we forewarned everyone and had the sky cleared over New York anyways. He could have taken the Bifrost directly, could he not? You said Heimdall loves him. Point Break is overdoing it with the weather effects. Being overdramatic is really a requirement for being a Norse Gods, eh?” Tony picked up the kid and sat him on his hip, not caring that Jor was too big to be carried around outside dire situations and that he was wrinkling his fine suit. This counted as dire for Tony.

Loki sported a faint smirk, but his eyes were a warm green. “If that’s the case? Dear mortal, what is your excuse?”

“It’s called style!”

“Like the suit you are wearing?”

Tony pouted. There was nothing wrong with the deep red custom made Tom Ford suit, the black tie and his matching dark red sunglasses. If he wasn’t allowed his armor, because projectile and energy weapons were forbidden inside the Palace for visitors, then this was his next best choice.

He turned his head to check the living room. Pepper was hugging herself, her face in a deep scowl and Rhodey did his best not to scruff the stone floor with his armor while pacing.

“Friday, lights off inside, it’s nearly showtime.” His friends were cut from view.

Loki went for a last ditch effort, but with fatigue in his voice. Understandably, they had gone a few rounds already about this issue. “I would feel better if you stayed on Midgard. My plans are woven in a way to succeed without your presence on Asgard, Anthony. Having you go will put you in grave peril.”

That didn’t convince Tony to reconsider, it hadn’t the dozen tries before. “I fully believe in the success of your plan, Snowflake. You’ve got half an eternity of dealing with those fuckers and you can foretell how they will react far better than I. But I’m following another universal rule: everything gets better with a little added Stark. I’m going to do what I do best.”  _ Trust me _ , he didn’t add aloud.

Tony would not stay behind because he felt that he would be needed. It might be arrogant of him, but Tony knew how Murphy loved to screw them over. Something always went wrong. If it came to the worst - Rhodey knew where all his blueprints were stored. Everything had progressed to a point where his continued survival wasn’t as vital to Earth’s defense anymore. Not that he would let that slip to people like Ross.

“What you do best? I would guess your most impressive talent is annoying people.” Loki’s voice was as dry as the Sahara, he didn’t even make it a question.

Tony threw him a kiss and a wink, then pressed another kiss on Jori’s forehead.

Thor landed with a bang that shook the floor.

“Oh, come on Pikachu, I know you have more grace than that. My poor tower!” Tony complained halfheartedly.

The God of Thunder ignored him, he was too preoccupied with drinking in the sight of Loki, standing there barefoot despite the temperatures, in dark jeans and one of Tony’s band T-Shirts.

“Brother!”

Were those tears in the big, buff, manly man’s eyes?

The first step Thor took was hesitant, but then he gained momentum and swiftly strode across the terrasse, his red cloak billowing behind him like a flag, no longer in the color of mourning.

“Do not touch me. Don’t you dare.” Loki commanded in a voice that made the Thunderer stop and scowl.

The brothers stared at each other, the scowl on Thor’s face deepening with every second. Tony looked back and forth. Whatever was happening between them, they came to a conclusion outside Tony’s understanding.

Thor stood up tall, threw a thoughtful glance into the sky and then nodded severely. “Very well. I am overjoyed to see you alive and in good health, brother.” Thor boomed and pressed his fist against his broad chest.

“You look healthy like an ox, as always… Thor.”

“I feel all the better because of the marvelous news I have to tell. Odin All-Father has regained much of his health due to his prolonged sleep. It gladdens my heart that we will not lose another parent so soon after mother. But I am very cross with our father and will not forgive him for some time to come for his deception. To let me believe that you died, while it was all a scheme to give him the time to recuperate undisturbed, it is despicable.”

“Your father,” Loki grumbled, massaging the bridge of his nose.

Tony cuddled Jori closer and rubbed his back. The kid hid his face against Tony’s neck.

“I bid you, introduce me to this fine young man! I have not only gained my brother back but a nephew as well.

Loki of course pressed his lips together and did no such thing.

This was one of those times where Tony got a vivid demonstration why having a sibling might have driven him up the wall. “Thor, come meet Jormungand Lokison. Jor, don’t you want to meet your uncle?”

After a short peek at the smiling Thor Jor only shook his head and clung harder.

The big lug looked honestly crushed.

“Give him time to get used to you, there’s a lot to get used to after all. Point Break, you’re loud and your damn big and he’s a little kid.”

“And we will have enough opportunity to bond!” Thor fumbled a scroll from out under his chest plate, unrolled it and held it out to his brother.

A scroll. Like, medieval proclamation scroll. And here Tony had been led to believe that Asgard was an advanced society.

“For you brother, the official order directly from our father’s hand. Odin All-Father has ordered Jormungand Lokison to be brought before him. He wants to officially meet and welcome his grandson to the family and you have his word that no harm will befall the child. It is a shame, that as an escaped convict you are not welcome on Asgard Loki, but father has told me about your most recent deeds here on Midgard. You made steps in the right direction, your banishment will not be upheld for much longer!”

Tony dearly hoped that Thor would refrain from harping on about redemption and recompense.

From the sour expression on Loki’s face he wasn’t the only one to do so. The scroll went up in green smoke.

“I do not like this, but I cannot go against a direct order from my king, can I? Keep an eye on my son, never let him leave your presence until you can give him back to me, and defend him well, Stark. If anything happens to Jormungand I will hold you and all of Asgard responsible and bring Ragnarok upon the Nine Realms.” Loki intoned and clasped his hands behind his back. The harsh lightning that still pounded the tower gave him the appropriate gloomy background.

Tony threw him a kiss. “Don’t be such a worry wart Reindeer Games! We’re visiting Grandpops, not Helheim.”

“I know the perfect quaint Midgardian phrase as a response: ‘Same difference’!” hissed Loki between his teeth.

“Brother!” Thor boomed. “Our father has given his word, nothing will happen to Jormungand.”

Cue a hateful super sibling glaring contest.

Tony rolled his eyes. “And here I thought it is a bad idea to let a king wait?”

“Right you are, Son of Howard. Heimdall!-”

Thor yelled at the sky and Tony glanced back at Loki, licked his lips, hesitated. He only had seconds.

‘ I love you!’ he mouthed.

“-open the Bifrost!”

Loki smiled and before bright light engulfed Tony he heard the answer.

“I know.”

.-#-.

What a ride! Not better than his Iron Man suit, of course, but it had made every hair on his skin stand up in a very pleasant way.

“I will inform my father of your arrival, my shield sister will escort you to the throne room.” Thor clapped him on the shoulder and whirled his hammer.

Tony snorted. And there was the proof that Thor had indeed been up to his old tricks. Escorting them would have revealed his switcheroo of messenger duty. The engineer  looked around with hungry eyes.

If he hadn’t seen some of this trough Loki’s memories he might have been impressed. Maybe. Just a little bit. Not with the buildings and statues on everything, enough was not a word those decorators had known.  But the bridge! He could see it spread from the observatory into the city fortress. His fingers twitched with the need to try and figure out - everything. If he smashed those useless ornaments long enough until they crumbled off, there had to be circuits underneath, surely?

Apart from the small but restricting detail that none of the watching Aesir guards would let him do that.

Heimdall, unmistakable in person after the description gained through the nightmares of a child, stared at him as if he was not only able to see everywhere physically, but into people’s minds as well. If that was the case, then Tony had something worthy for the asshole’s contemplation. Tony cupped the back of Jor’s head, hmmed to calm the kid down and glared with all the hate in his heart up at the Gatekeeper.

“Shhh… No need to be afraid. Only a true monster would harm an innocent kid.” Tony talked as if addressing Jor, but his eyes were fixed on the golden ones much higher up.

Heimdall showed no reaction. Not a blink, not one muscle moved in his stoic face.

“Hey, will the king come here? I mean, it’s kind of a rule up here in Viking land that mortals should not enter your city, isn’t it?”

“I will escort you to the palace, come with me.” A woman stepped out of the shadows. Tall, dark, armored and gorgeous, she would have been Tony’s type but the sneer was off putting.

“I wanted to give you time to acclimatize. Midgardians are a delicate species, I do not want you to collapse.”

“Oh, Hi.” An extra up and down inspection made the maiden’s  glare intensify. “One sec, I knew I recognized you. You’re Sif.”

“The Lady Sif.” She stiffly corrected and quickened her pace out of the door and onto the glittering bridge.

Nope, thought Tony, followed a few steps, but promptly slowed down again when outside and pointed out an especially funky tower to Jori. “It looks a lot like the Sydney Opera House, doesn’t it?” he asked him in English.

The kid blinked up at him confusedly.

“Stop twaddling and hurry.” Sif had returned.

Tony pointed at another building and ignored her beyond an answer. “Little kid, shorter legs; He’s not using them at the moment because, hello, I’m carrying him and he is small but heavy. That bridge has no railing which is a security risk. Bad engineering, your Ministry for safety must be incompetent. Go slower or find another form of transport instead of  _ slowly _ walking.”

“The All-Father should not be kept waiting.” She gritted her teeth and reached for his upper arm and he evaded.

“No touching without permission, hasn’t your mom taught you manners?” but Tony followed her, a big smirk on his face.

There had to be some sort of spell or extra feature on the bridge because they made good time and bypassed the city itself to reach the palace.

“I’ve heard a lot of stories about you from the prince.” Tony casually mentioned and shook his head at the same time in sheer disbelief. More statues! Everywhere! Big, bigger, gigantic. Sculptor had to be the most sought after job on this Realm. And torches! Tony was in anachronistic hell.

A pair of mini-Heimdalls were guarding ornate doors and opened them to let their group pass into the huge empty throne room.

“Thor talked about me?”

And there he had it. Suddenly Sif sounded a lot friendlier.

“Wrong prince. I meant Loki. Just as tall but slender, with dark hair. That’s rare on Asgard, I’ve heard. Most people are blond?” Tony eyed her dark tresses and sat the kid down.

“You can walk the rest of the way.” again, in English. Jor nodded but did not stray more than a few steps.

“Sweet kid, isn’t he? If there’s one thing Loki excels at, apart from causing mischief, it’s fathering exceptional kids. Jormungand is very intelligent.” Tony boasted and smiled brightly at Siff. “He’ll be very attractive when he’s an adult, Loki will have to keep the girls and boys away with wards.”

“If you say so.” She stiffly answered, her eyes not leaving the kid skipping alongside them down the hall.

The throne room was less golden than in the dreams, had to be the missing fog and misty light effects. The curtains had been closed and the only other decorations were round shields on the pillars intercepting the high walls. Hilskialf was an exact mirror though. And empty.

Now, according to Loki’s plans, they would have to wait and see if their trap got sprung.

And Tony hated waiting. He knew just the way to speed this up.

“Hm, royalty and their sense of punctuality, eh? Standing around, doing nothing, that’s boring, let’s talk a little instead. Thor went to get us in your stead, like the one time with the spelled gem, did I guess right?”

“Do not speak of it!” she hissed and glanced around.

“It’s only us, who would tell? But you’re a good pal, you did him a huge favor. You should have seen that reunion, it was so sweet, seeing the brothers together again.”

“Shut. Up.”

“For one second,” Tony smirked in her face, raised one eyebrow - just so- “I thought Thor would kiss Loki.”

Siff trembled, composed herself and turned as if to walk away.

“On the forehead, like a good brother should. Maybe it was better that you didn’t have to watch that, it must be so hard for you.”

“You do not know what you are talking about.”

Tony laughed, long and hard. “That’s something everybody insists on telling me. In my experience, it is always them being proven wrong because yep, I tend to know very, very well what I’m speaking about. And I know girls, pardon, women. I recognize that look on your face, I have seen it loads of times. And there are enough hints all over your history as well.

Tony’s hands were agile, accompanying his words with gestures. “Hm, take that story about your hair, our myths say it was like spun gold once. Truth? I’m fact checking anything about the Edda by now, you would not believe the garbage that is written in there.” He pointedly nodded in Jor’s direction.

Jor was staring back at him, a very stubborn cast to his chin and mouth.

Sif was back to ignoring him.

“Our stories say that Loki spelling you bald, subsequently was forced to replace the hair. I don’t buy the story, for example. The only available wig is black and you are pissed about it? Sounds like so much nonsense, because you could not have been the first bald Aesir and if everyone loves golden hair, why would there be no golden wigs? What I guess, from the way you are panting after Thor, is that you had your hair spelled black on your own in a fit because you thought he would like that better - and then blamed Loki because you did not want to admit it. He’s known for his pranks, who would take his word that nope, wasn’t him?”

Tony began to slowly circle the stiff as stone Sif. Ah, the alliteration was killing him!

He could see that he was getting to her, but would it be enough? “Why the wish for a colour change? Because Thor loves Loki and Loki is dark haired. Did you think he would now look at you like a man should look at a woman he desires?”

“You are a crude beast, talking about desire in front of a small child. The All-Father is right, Midgardians are akin to goats!”

Tony steadily continued his circling. “Nice try, no bull’s eye. Jor only understands English, he forgot his mother tongue. Hundreds of years in isolation can do that to a child.”

“He should have perished.” She whispered.

Tony’s eyes gleamed. “What did you just say?”

“Nothing. And keep your unclean tongue from wagging, your words are fouling the air.” Sif lovingly caressed the handle of her sword.

“Sweety, you don’t get to order me around. For all your scorn for my planet, we could have helped you with your - hm, can’t call it a little problem, I’ve seen Thor naked.”

“What?!?” The screech was loud enough to crack a window. If there was a window here.

Tony made his leer extra strong and knew that this time it was him who would need a very hot shower afterward. “You need to get laid and since you are waiting for Thor and he will not desire you back, ever, the next best thing would be a custom made toy. I don’t think the word dildo means anything to you but we called them Old Maid’s Pleasure in the past, if that helps?

Sif was hyperventilating.

“We’ve got these nifty shops on earth. They model those toys after the real deal. Thor would have to visit the shop, and...well. He’s a good pal. Copy phallus made, problem solved. Do you want the address? Really, take the opportunity, that would be the nearest you’ll ever get to getting fucked by him. You’re just his buddy. Thor will always love Loki more than you.” Tony pulled out his phone, keeping a very close eye on the woman.

“But he should not.” She growled. “He should not!”

“If Thor didn’t see Loki as his brother-” Tony purred.

“Thor would chose him as his mate, instead of me.” Sif finished his words, was trembling where she stood.

Thor would strangle him - again - but here went nothing. Tony smirked and opened his arms wide, mockingly. “And, why not? If they were Greek Gods it would be insta fuck. Viking might be different, but you guys live for millennia and both princes are still young.  A few hundred years would be enough to lessen the memories of growing up like brothers. Loki is strong, he is intelligent. He would temper Thor’s more headstrong character traits when it comes to politics. What’s not to love?” What indeed. “And for the line of succession? Not a problem either, due to Loki’s ancestry.”

He looked towards Jori.

And Sif went from stone Maiden to Viking Fury. “How dare you speak of such things!” she sprang forward, as if she was going to forcefully prevent him from opening his mouth again.

There had been scarier people who tried it first.

“I speak it, you are thinking it!” He laughed in her face.

“He should be mine, loving me, not that… mongrel! I could give him pure and beautiful babies, not half Jotun scum! Monsters!”

“But look, Jori is not a monster, now, is he? He is the living proof that there is nothing wrong with Loki!”

Sif stopped her posturing, her breath going fast, an ugly smile on her beautiful face. “Living proof, you say? You are babbling about Midgardian wisdom? How about ‘If you don’t succeed,  _ try again _ !”

And she drew her sword.

“Jor, run! I’ll take care of the bitch.” Activating his hidden wristwatch gauntlet required no thought, it was second nature for Tony by now.

The kid glared at him instead of running.

“Kill the runt, I’ll have the pleasure of putting down this ergi ape.”

A dozen armored warriors - much more than they had calculated with - slipped through the gaps in the curtains and into the middle of the room. “Sif, this was not the plan! We will not be be able to explain-”

“I will think of something, we need to get rid of both of them before our king arrives. It’s your own fault for taking your time. Where were you? Andras and Eric will not be able to stall Odin forever. No matter, this should not take long.” Sif let the sword swirl.

Yep, because bloodstains all over the floor were so inconspicuous. Tony eyed her footwork, the sure steps, and feinted to the side, rolling off his shoulder to avoid the swipe that would have taken his arm off at the shoulder. He could see the kid running to the throne, drawing most of the warriors away.

“Rolling on the ground like the cur you are!” Sif hissed. “Watch that monster die, like he should have centuries ago, and then it will be your turn.”

“I don’t think so.” Tony grinned visciously.

Two of the men were in striking distance of the kid. One, a fat bearded bruiser of a man, threw his axe.

Tony expected it to be stopped by a barrier - there were no attack spells allowed without Odin’s permission in this hall - but instead the heavy weapon was hit out of the way by a gigantic sword that appeared out of thin air. And then the the asshole got flung into a wall via Mjolnir with a side dish of lightning. The air pulsed and Heimdall stepped out of the gap, like tearing apart wet tissue, his sword blocking the way to the child.

Thor landed in the middle of the room with a crackle. lightning dancing in his eyes.

An unholy banshee wail cut the air. “Nooooooo!!!!!! Thor, no.” Sif howled; more wounded, crazy bitch than woman.

“It is over Sif, lower your sword!” Thor commanded.

But Sif raised her weapon again, with fletched teeth and an insane glint in her eyes. And instead of attacking Jor or Tony - she flung herself in direction of the unarmed Thor.

Thor held out his hand, called for his hammer-

“Sif!” called a young, high voice, sharp like acid.

She flinched, stumbled. Gripped her shoulder. And wretched a small, sharp throwing dagger out that had slipped through the chain links in her armor.

Thor held up Mjolnir.

And behind Heimdall, Jor’s figure, - one hand still in a throwing position - began to morph into Loki in full battle gear.

“No, no, I will not-” Sif howled. “You tricked us! Jotun scum, you tricked us. You took him away from me and now- Valhalla will be mine and I will take-”

She did not finish the sentence, she didn’t need to. Next second she was on Tony like a an ancient berserker.

“Anthony!” Loki shouted across the room, his face an angry mask and tried to run to them, only to be intercepted.

Most of her remaining co-conspirators shared Sif’s opinion, glory in death. Only two went to their knees in supplication.

Next time someone told Tony not to bring his suit, he would ignore them. If there was a next time because this Viking hellcat was coming at him with murder in her eyes.

Expecting him to be helpless. Hah. Tony deflected her first strike with a repulsor blast from his emergency gauntlet and then danced out of her way. He could feel Extremis react to his increased heart rate and welcomed the heat.

“Stay and fight, you honorless cur!”

Yeah, no. That bitch was taller than Tony, stronger than Tony and wore armor. And had a razor sharp sword. Nope, he would not stop moving. Happy, during his self defense lessons, had always told Tony that as midget he had to be fast and precise, not flashy. If they got him he was dead.

But she was damn fast too. Her next strike came in too quick, hit his repulsor and shattered the device. An something in his hand, but who was counting. Heat spread like fire and numbed the pain. Tony breathed hard, stared at the sword he had literally caught in his hand, stared at the wild eyes that met him over the blade.

And snatched his own concealed dagger out of its sheath at the small of his back to shove it into the gap where her pauldrons met the backplate. It was not a good angle to wound her severely, but it made her flinch back and that was what Tony needed.

A hard kick with his sneakers behind her knee on the way out of the kill zone, at a certain spot where her armor was thinnest; a few steps and he had gained some distance again. Being intimately knowledgeable about the intricacies of Æsir armor had its advantages.

The next swing clashed against the pillar he ducked behind just in time. That would leave nicks on the blade. Tony reached up, removed one of the shields, weighted it and flung it into Sif’s face clumsily.

She batted it away, laughed at him derisively.

Over her shoulders he could see Heimdall decapitate one of the attackers and Loki fighting two others with a lot more efficiency and grace than Tony was showing.

More swings, more ducking and weaving. Tony got a swipe in and sliced her cheek but it cost him a stab to the upper arm. At least it was his already wounded side.

“Die already!”

Tony looked down. Saw the shield a few steps in front of her feet, concave side up, Sif ready to jump over it. It was much too heavy for him to do him any good in a classical way and he had to finish this before his luck ran out.

He flung himself forward, lifted his foot and came down with all his weight and all the power he could channel on the outer edge. His good hand hooked into the loop that acted as the handle, pressed and lifted, gave the it an additional vector that should made it fly up-

If he had calculated right and she came for him with an overhead swing -

Tony shielded his head with the gauntlet. Felt an impacted that rattled deep into his bones.

And the edge of the shield crashed against the underside of her chin.

Tony heaved, felt his chest burn, his arm- The sword fell out of Sif’s hand and she toppled over.

He checked if she was still breathing, unfortunately the answer was yes, took her sword and looked around.

Loki and Thor were brutal elegance in motion. They moved in tandem, as a team. Thor wielding his hammer, Loki wicked looking daggers into the attack windows the more brutal weapon of his brother created for him. They were battling against five other experienced warriors and were defeating them slowly but surely one after the other. Tony would only distract them if he joined, the best he could do was make sure Sif stayed down and that nobody got to them out of a blind spot.

Heimdall had finished sooner, his opponents were bloody heaps on the floor and he was back to stoically observing again.

The outcome of the fight was a foregone conclusion. The last warrior gave up, clutching the stump where his left arm had been a moment before.

Loki looked around, frantic. “Anthony!”

“Over here. I’m only slightly banged up and I have a present for you. One unconscious traitor.”

“I know your definition of slightly banged up! What have I said about you and injuries?!?” Loki gave Sif nary a side glance, he was more interested in the rumpled and bleeding Tony.

Tony stumbled up and met the other man in the middle of the hall, smiling at him and accepting the hug. “It will heal fast.”

He did not get much time to enjoy it before he was pulled into another embrace, Thor this time.

“I congratulate you on your fighting form, most effective for unarmed combat. Sif is a very good fighter and hard to beat, I feared for your life.”

“You don’t have to finish what she started and squish him, you oaf!” Loki groused. “I need to take him to a healer.”

Tony reciprocated the hug, it was the fastest way to get Thor to let go. “Now, why were there no guards helping us with these assholes? Isn’t that what guards are for, or are they only decoration, like the statues. We’ve made enough noise to wake the dead!”

Thor looked around. “A very good question Man of Iron.”

“They did not interfere because I ordered them not to.”

Suddenly the throne wasn’t empty anymore. Odin was sitting there, his scepter in his hands and a lot of people crowded between the backside of the throne and the wall.

The All-Father stood up. “I wanted everyone to witness the confrontation. I think it was most informative.”

And he had risked both his sons’ and Tony’s lives. A few hands more would have helped a lot. Thirteen enemies and Sif against the four of them. To prove a point? What point?

Tony swiped the back of his hand over his mouth and tasted blood.

“Trial by combat has always been a traditional form of judgement on Asgard. Today it has proven its usefulness again. My two sons and their comrades have unveiled a heinous conspiracy against Asgard.” Odin intoned gravely and let his one eye sweep over the moaning and writhing fallen warriors and the sweaty, bloody and disheveled trio.

The only fighter who looked like freshly from the parade ground was Heimdall.

“I will call for the healers. In two hours time, this court will congregate again. I will sit judgement over those traitors who are as yet alive to decide on their fate and to clear up any open questions. Everyone is invited to stand witness.”

He regally strode down the steps, unconcerned by the grisly coating of blood and body parts he had to step over, like the gallows god he had originally been.

“Thor, Loki, Heimdall and Howardson, please wait in the antechamber behind the throne. A healer has been called for you as well.”

“Of course father.” Thor bowed and led the way.

The chamber was more of a hall itself, with thousand of books and scrolls in high bookcases and a huge desk dominating the middle of the floor space.

“Is this what ‘a little bit of added Stark’ looks like? I shudder to think what more Stark would cause. That was not the plan, Anthony. We knew that the one behind this would not risk Jormungand being introduced to the court officially.” Loki scolded him, but at the same time his fingers were carefully and tenderly inspecting the scraps and cuts Tony had acquired during the battle.

“Hey, this way everyone heard Sif’s confession and they can’t turn it around on us.”

“True. But Anthony, you...” Loki broke off, nodded then slowly lowered his head, giving Tony the time to move if he wanted.

Of course he wanted. He met Loki halfway. It wasn’t an open mouthed passionate kiss, more a breathing with each other and reveling in the other’s presence. They enjoyed it until a deep chuckle had them pull apart.

“Brother, now you know what I experienced every time you altered our plans in the middle of a skirmish!” Thor was leaning against the desk, Mjolnir at his feet and his massive arms crossed before his chest. “it is not as much fun from the other side, is it not?”

Loki flicked his hair back and huffed. “Well, yes. Anthony has the habit of surprising me. And you did as well today.”

“By the way, thank you Point Break for coming to our defense, that was great timing. We didn’t expect so many enemies.” Tony added, sincerely grateful.

Thor smiled, it was a little bit crooked and sad. “Sif had many friends and admirers. I knew that the Man of Iron, a man of science, would not have fallen for an elaborate scheme, for a monstrous beast instead of a child. I remembered who had originally been the one who revelled in spreading those stories. Sif. I hoped to be wrong, that it was someone else.” The big guy sighed, his chest expanding with the deep breath he took.

Heimdall had positioned himself beside the door and was back to his statue impression. Tony wondered about him.The god featured prominently in Jor’s nightmares, what had made him change his mind? He had helped even before Thor had joined the fight.

“Will you now be willing to introduce me to my real nephew?” Thor’s eyes were so blue and hopeful when he stared at Loki. “When you refused my embrace but not the title 'brother' I suspected a trick at play.”

“Why?” Tony asked.

It was Loki who answered, accompanied by a shoulder shrug and a mean grin. “My copies disappear when they are touched. He guessed, but played along to fool any observer and Heimdall. You surprised me, Thunderer. Maybe I was mistaken about your inability to see through guile and use your brains.”

“It’s called practice, Loki.” Thor countered.

The brothers laughed.

“Anthony. I can agree that your addition to my plan was most efficient, but do me a favor.”

“Yes?”

“Never, ever mention Thor’s intimate parts again. Ever.” Loki shuddered.

“I second that notion.” came feverently from Thor’s direction.

“Thirded.” Heimdall spoke up.

Who knew the guy had a sense of humor?

TBC

 


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not beta read

Æsir filled the hall, more numerous and more varied in status and wealth than the mere hundred that had been called to secretly witness the fight from behind the throne. Odin was back on his golden monstrosity, Thor and Heimdall to his right, Loki to his left with Tony standing two steps lower.

It was all very ceremonial, full of hidden meaning, pomp - and boring. No seats either, the only one allowed to be comfortable was the king. The Space Vikings, for all their love for grandiose medieval ceremony had a decidedly bloodthirsty streak, because nobody had bothered to wash the blood away that stained the cold floor.

Three of the attackers had not survived to be judged, the rest kneeled on the stone floor in neat rows, the blood a vivid reminder of what happened not three hours ago. Four more, clad in regular expensive looking tunics, not armor, had been dragged in additionally. Sif and the rotund warrior that had tried to use his battle axe to kill Loki in disguise were front and center.

“People of Asgard. For hundreds of years a conspiracy has been brewing in secret. These kneeling traitors planned to gain control over the throne and future succession by manipulating Thor to choose a bride they deemed appropriate. We have heard Sif Bransdottir confess, her guilt has already been proven through her words and ritual combat. Now I will make sure that all of her motives and all of her co-conspirators have been hauled into the light.”

Tony suppressed a sigh. Odin really loved to hear himself talk, didn’t he?

“But first I want you to welcome my second son, Loki, officially back to Asgard. I say officially, but some of you have suspected that he has been present for much longer and you are correct, I applaud you for your vigilance. Fear not, it was in service of Asgard and with my knowledge that he has used his formidable skills as a mage to strengthen our defenses and thus work off the debt he owes the Realm Eternal for the mischief and destruction he has caused in the past. Today he heroically risked his life but prevailed!”

Tony highly suspected that the old bastard would not have bat an eye if one or both of his son’s had died today.

From the cool attitude Thor was showing his father he had caught onto that or another unpleasant revelation himself. Getting your nose shoved into the fact that your father is a selfish asshole would sour the mood of the most boisterous man.

Odin could have called a halt and sent the guards when it became clear that Thor was in peril as well as Loki, but he had not.

Odin was still talking, recounting his version of who had discovered what, all twisted to make the All-Father not look like someone who had been played and who had fucking slept the last few years away.

The old guy moved energetically and hadn’t Thor said that he had gained additional years if not centuries through his extra long nap? Tony would not be surprised if one of the next joyous proclamation would be a new queen of Asgard and a sibling for Thor and Loki on the way. No, he really would not put that past Odin. A few more spare kids he could use as chess pieces, why not?

“Thor, do you have any question for Sif?”

“Did you chose the creed of a warrior purely to gain my trust?” Thor asked.

“No.” Sif shook her head. “I always loved you, it began when I was a mere child. The womanly arts were never my forte and I delighted in the rougher plays of boys. Joining the warriors and gaining your favor as your shield sister was combining both of my fondest wishes. Everyone in my family, everyone at court said that a bond between us would now grow naturally into something more. But it never happened.” Her wistful smile morphed into an ugly sneer. “Because of the jotun beast. It must have cast a spell on our Prince!” Her voice rose, she looked around, searching for support.

“How dare you!” Odin screamed. “Today has proven Thor’s excellent instincts for never touching you intimately. I cannot fathom what would have happened if your sick ambition had born fruit and tainted the future heirs to the throne.

“Do you hear how he does not defend Loki?” Sif hollered and the crowd shuffled uncertainly. If she had to go down, she would cause as much damage as possible.

“I am the lawful King of Asgard, I am a battle mage myself, or have you forgotten because the last great war has been so long ago? Loki is a very accomplished sorcerer with unparallelled talent but he is young yet. Does anyone in this hall really think that, in his early adolescence, he was able to cast a spell neither Queen Frigga nor myself would be able to detect?”

Most of the people in the audience calmed down, a few openly glared at Sif. Some hatefully stared at Loki.

If there were more girls on Asgard who would rather fight than defer to gender expectations Sif had just bombed their chances, because there would be lots of old stuffy men now that would use her example as an excuse to shove those girls back into their roles.

“Loki is the God of Mischief, like Thor is the God of Thunder. Do you blame the water for being wet? You can get angry, certainly, but all your grumbling will not alter its very nature. My sons both have earned their reputation a thousand fold, but this twisted creature before you has exploited Loki’s by spreading false rumors, going so far as to instigate the murder of his children! They planned to murder Jormungand in this very halls. It did not succeed but Asgard has lost one young Prince already. Fenrir Lokison is dead due to her and her family's crimes. Because I doubt she was the original mind behind this plan. She is the one who leads the conspiracy now, but in the past it has been her own father.”

Not that Tony thought Sif did not deserve to be called on her shit, but Odin was doing some very creative retconning here and if he read the admiring faces of the sheep right, he was going to come out of this smelling like a rose. And Fenrir deserved more than to be a mere side note in the speech of the one who had let himself be used as his murderer and encouraged the climate that bred this disaster in the first place.

They should have disposed of Odin, really. But unfortunately it was not possible. But one day-

“I have adopted Loki into my bloodline, his ancestry is irrelevant. An attack against him weighs as much as it would against Thor.” Odin boomed. “The traitors have forfeited their names and assets, but I will not waste experienced warriors. Sif and the men following her will be imprisoned until the day the Mad Titan attacks, then they will be given their weapons and they will be delivered into the heart of the attacking army. Maybe they will prove themselves worthy of Valhalla!”

Now it was Heimdall’s turn. Without his helmet on he looked a lot less intimidating, but his eyes, when they focused to study Tony, burned like before. The man knelt, but he did not bend his head.

“Heimdall the All-Seeing. Why have you acted against House Odin?”

Interesting. Even Tony caught the slight but important difference. House Odin, not Asgard.

“I have lost much to the Jotnar. I was blinded by my hate, my King, my vision distorted. The fate of Prince Loki’s children never seemed fair, but I believed it necessary, that it would be better for Asgard to keep any Jotun blood away from the throne. Loki’s fate is no longer tethered to Asgard’s fate though and I am not a monster that will not defend what appeared to be a child. My allegiance is still and always will be to Asgard.”

Was there a warning in his voice?

Odin nodded. “Your actions today have erased much of your debt. You acted to defend the life you once endangered. Nevertheless the obligation is not null and void. Will you accept a debt of honor, able to be called in by Jormungand, for a favor that must not endanger the Realm Eternal?”

“I accept.”

“Then return to your post, Asgard has need of her Gatekeeper’s keen eyes.”

That had been a let down. Nearly no questioning and a slap on the wrist. Tony wished he was positioned differently; down and to the side he had no possibility to exchange any words or looks with Loki without turning around.

“I have dealt with transgressions against Asgard today. One is left.” Odin’s eye fixated on Tony.

Who heard Loki catch his breath.

“This Midgardian has shown great courage and battle acumen. Despite being unable to wield our traditional weapons, he turned them against one of our mightiest warriors and defeated her fairly. But he is mortal.”

Sif, kneeling between her two guards started giggling madly. “You lose, mangy cur, now you-”

A magical muzzle,not unlike the one that had once silenced Loki appeared over her mouth.

“Mortals are forbidden to step onto Asgard’s territory, an offense is punishable by death.” Odin intoned, his grave, deep voice washing over the audience.

“Father!” Thor’s voice cleaved the air.

Tony pressed his lips together and raised his chin high. Well, if the old bastard wanted to play it like that, he would oblige him. If Odin didn’t like the outcome, too bad. Loki, by the looks of him, was game for everything, but he was not aware of a tiny but important detail. Tony turned his head fully to his partner and shook it slightly and sent him a crooked, devilish grin.

Three step forward and he was in front of the throne. Loki joined him.

“But he as doing it in the service of Asgard.” Odin went on to build up the tension, playing with the wide eyed citizens who were drinking in his every word.

Nope, wrong, Tony had done it for his kid and his trickster and for himself. Odin had not made the list even as a footnote.

“Because of that I declare that he is forgiven for his crime and deserves a reward instead.”

Odin grandly gestured to the right and a slender goddess with a small basket stepped forward, offering it to her King, who then pointed at Tony.

The goddess opened her basket, inside a golden apple was resting on a glittering handkerchief.

“An Apple of Idunn, so Anthony Howardson, Man of Iron, will be able to join our ranks, with a body and a lifespan matching ours. I firmly believe that he will be a fine addition!”

A prolonged lifespan and a healthy body. Tony stared at the apple, felt fingers brush against his own. His first instinct was to look at Loki. Who did not look overjoyed but had a pinched look on his face. Then at Odin.

Who looked smug. Yes, the All-Father did his best to project well meaning benefactor vibes, but the way his gray eye was shining? That spoke of ‘Gottcha!’.

A golden apple. The very thing Odin had denied Jane Foster. It would mean- Tony let out the breath he had been holding. Citizenship. Observance to the throne and allowing Hlidskjalf to have power over his every thought. Talk about a gift with strings attached.

Loki tightened his grip, then lessened again, Tony felt the calloused fingers caress the back of his hand.

“All-Father, you humble me with your gift but I have forgot to mention something to you. I am a big believer in rules and obeying them. I knew about the restriction.” Two lies, wo truths. Loki was not the only one who could spin them in the room.

Odin raised one eyebrow, still sure that he had won. With Tony in his court he would have a new way to keep a hold on his adopted wayward son, would bind him to Asgard tighter than ever before.

“You see, technically I am not mortal.”

Whispers broke out.

“Technically?” Odin challenged.

Tony closed his eyes, let loose the banked fire that had been smoldering in his chest since the day he had accepted that Extremis was the only way to go on. It had once been an enemy, but in the last weeks it had become Tony’s ally and was now as much a part of himself as the arc reactor it fed on. When he opened them and stared at Odin he knew that instead of his normal rich brown they were now a glimmering dark red.

“I have a knack for ending up in precarious situations."

“Yes, friend Tony, you do.” Thor grumbled.

“And had to invent a way to make me more durable. I have found a method to heal faster and my body rejuvenates itself.” Or it would be able to do so fully in another year or two. Time delayed truth was still truth. “I am sorry but I cannot eat that apple. I have obligations on my home Realm. I swore to defend Earth, it would conflict with citizenship here.

Loki laughed softly, warmly.

Everyone focused on the trickster, wide eyed, and not a few of them took a cautious step away from the steps to the throne.

Loki lifted Tony’s hand up and pressed a kiss to the back of it, uncaring about the gasps in the audience. His gorgeous eyes glowing at Tony. Then Loki let go and stepped sideways, his cloak swinging.

“Father, it gladdens my heart to see that you approve of my choice of companion, you cannot know what that means to me. Anthony is an exceptional man, and maybe in time he will be ready to join the Aesir.”

Yeah, when Odin was no longer on the throne, maybe. And only if Earth got dull. Tony stepped back to watch Loki play.

“You have to excuse his ignorance when it comes to royal gifts. Before today he has never needed to learn how to react correctly when offered such a boon and that refusal is an offense itself. But he has a point as well, you have to admit? There is no fault on is part in today’s battle. Which leaves us with the question of how to reward him for his service.” Loki was in his element.

“And you will act in his stead for now, because he is not versed in our customs, be his voice?” Odin mildly asked. “Howardson?”

“I trust him.” Tony shrugged his shoulders and grinned.

“His Midgardian method of keeping his body young is naturally not as advanced as ours. It is still flawed. Now that I am paying closer attention I can see how his wounds are knitting together at a higher speed than normal for a human.”

And Loki sent a lightning fast glared at Tony to remind him that he did not approve of Tony getting injured at all.

Odin narrowed his eyes at Tony and slowly nodded, his head tilted in direction of his silver tongued son.

“I think you chose the gift wisely, father. The healing of the apple, without the other benefits, wouldn’t it be an appropriate reward?”

“It would also make him stronger in our fight against the Mad Titan.” Thor added.

And it would allow Odin to save face. The All-father brandished his scepter. “Then it is decided. The healing powers of an apple and the hand of Loki Odinson, as a just reward for Anthony’s part in unraveling the conspiracy against the throne of Asgard. If he stays true to his vows and to his service to the Nine Realms, he is allowed to ask and receive citizenship with any further apple he wants to consume.

Tony knew that he had to be gaping. Ok, that _ little  _ addition hadn’t been negotiated at all. Which only showed that Odin was a totalitarian ruler and did pretty much what he wanted.

“Your apple, Anthony.” Loki waved at the dully glowing fruit. “Only the one it is intended for can touch the fruit without it losing full potency.”

Well, as long as his trickster had no problem with that ‘hand of’ twist? Tony would have to give back his genius club card if he protested.

“Just eat it? Like a normal apple?” Tony asked and picked up the fruit. It smelled like an exotic orchard, more citrusy than fruity.

Loki nodded.

“My friends always tell me I should not eat strange food in strange places but in this case…” Tony bit off a juicy mouthful and chewed, uncomfortable with the avid stares he felt in his back. Everyone watching him eat, that was creepy. Then he slowed his chewing. He had expected it to taste like an ordinary apple or something completely foreign to his taste buds but- He swallowed. it was more intense but this tasted exactly like the fruit juices Loki insisted were good for his -

Oh that sneaky little shit! Tony chuckled, saw how Loki smirked at him knowingly.

“And now we feast!” Odin bellowed

And the crowd cheered.

.-#-.

“We’re back!” Tony chanted; thought, ‘’oh, why not?’ and did a little victory dance on his way inside. “Fuck Snowflake, you were great! Their faces! But what a boring pile of stuffy, violent people.”

“Indeed.” Loki smiled faintly. “You act drunk, but you touched no mead, maybe the apple isn’t interacting correctly with your artificially altered biology.”

“Nha, that’s just me being happy.” Tony laughed at him. The apple had helped heal him and he felt fantastic, but his system wasn’t changed that much, arc reactor and Extremis were the same as before.

“Tony, Loki!” Pepper ran down the stairs, in her high heels at an incredible speed and flung herself into Tony’s arms, then hugged a startled Loki for good measure.

“We’ve been busy, busy bees, you should be very proud of us Pep! Where’s the kiddo?” Ohhh… his phone was working properly again.

“In the bathroom, Rhodey finally got him to try the sunken tub by purchasing him goggles and a real floating plant. We’ll try bubbles next time. Give them five minutes.”

Pepper snatched all the wonderful flawlessly working Stark tech right out of his hands again.

“There’s no usable tech on Asgard, none that I could find anyways, can you believe it? And they wanted to keep me, but Loki saved me from that terrible fate.

“Keep you. In their dungeons?”

“No! Ok, there was one point where it was discussed but… full citizenship because they saw how awesome I am and because Odin is an asshat. It’s complicated.” Tony ran to the bar kitchenette and rummaged through the drawers.

“Short version: Jor is safe, everyone is more happy to have the kiddo here on Earthgard than up in Asgard where he would remind them that they are racist assholes. Similar deal for the Snowflake. Odin is pouting, but for now he has better things to do than try to leash our trickster. He officially named Lokes Ambassador, wants to look like he is rewarding Loki for good behaviour while keeping him away from his precious throne at the same time.”

“As if I would want it! Two years was more than enough.”

“Very effective aversion therapy, those 27 months, eh? But I understand fully, Lokes, ‘cause ruling that mess? Nah. We’re much happier in New York. And even better, a New York without Thunderbolt. I gave them Ross in exchange. Good riddance.” Tony munched on his favorite brand of dried berries.

“You did what?”

Tony had his mouth full and gestured to Loki.

“Not very attractive Anthony. Virginia, I admire your patience. Whenever I turned my back he nearly caused a ruckus without even trying. That takes talent.” Loki did not look aggrieved at all, he looked smug and absolutely delicious.

Maybe he was really drunk? Tony blinked. No, drunk felt differently. Wasn’t a high either.

Pep tapped a foot against the floor and crossed her arms. “Ross?”

“It was explained to me this way, if Asgard establishes an embassy on Midgard it is only fair for Earth to do the same on Asgard. Tony has volunteered Ross, he told Odin that this man incorporated all the character traits Odin loves to see in a human and that if the All-Father personally requested this formidable individual, nobody would dare refuse. He already seems to have a sort of Ambassador status within your United Nations, it should work perfectly.”

And since Odin didn’t want Earth to look too attractive to his subjects, he would indeed love Ross.

“What would Ross do on Asgard?” Poor Pep was massaging her temples.

“Mostly? Nothing at all. He would be assigned a small house and read a lot.”

“OK, great. More news?”

“We kind of got married.” Tony said absentmindedly his attention was elsewhere, he had heard a noise from upstairs.

Jor barreled down, his hair wet and wild. Next moment Tony had the kid in his arms and Loki hugging them both. Maybe he was simply high on life.

“You did what?!?” Pep and Rhodey shouted unisono.

Loki was howling with laughter.

Epilogue

_ 1st of December 2016 _

_ Metropolitan Opera _

“I hope you will both have a nice evening Boss. You will take the direct way home?” The partition between back and driver was down. They were waiting for their turn to step onto the carpet.

It was Premiere Night, in more than one aspect.

Tony looked over to Loki who was observing the people outside.

“Yes Happy, we will. Thank you.”

Pepper had inspected both of them like a general who was about to send out her troops into battle. It would be the first time Loki would appear in public outside a formal hearing for the UN or an Avenger Assemble.

All polls and internet surveys agreed that it was the perfect point in time. Most of New York seemed to be at least resigned to the fact that the city was now the home of the Norse God of Mischief, he got bonus points for being the dad of Jori and he had a huge part of keeping everyone from getting eaten by a overdimensional slime monster just last week. Critical voices were in the minority.

Loki in a tailored tux would have his fan’s in Mischief heaven and Tony himself cut a very fine figure as well.

“Be boring, please!” Pep had beseeched them. “I had to promise Dr. Juniper that his opera house will survive your visit, forces outside your influence being the exception and that does not include ‘act of god’, Loki!”

“It’s ‘The Magic Flute’ tonight.” Loki’s eyes were shining in anticipation. “What will you be doing while I’m enjoying myself? Pepper told me about your aversion to opera.”

Tony tilted his head. Something was off with that one sentence but he could not say what. “Watching you, most likely. It’s nice to see you so happy. And now I’m sappy. And rhyming.”

“At least I am not the only one who is loving Mozart. Look at all these people, I have only seen crowds like that for movie premieres on your television. But I fully understand. Kathryn Lewek stars as the Queen of the Night and her voice is divine. Crystal clear soprano.” Loki gushed.

Tony had to laugh. “You know it’s all screeching to me. But don’t worry and enjoy your Mozart, I will be testing my new phone display. I have developed it especially for situations like this. Non-glare so others won’t be disturbed by the light but, yes, crystal clear. Ah, it’s our turn.”

The limousine stopped and one of the concierges opened the passenger door.

“Look, look! Wow, Iron Man!”

“And Loki!”

The noise was incredible. Tony smiled and waved and Loki nodded, a friendly smirk on his face.

The mayhem  was nowhere near a movie award ceremony or some of the premieres Tony had visited, but they would make front cover, no doubt.

Questions and demands were hurled at them while they slowly strolled along the welcome carpet. Some they answered, most they ignored. Other prominent visitors greeted them. And it wasn’t too bad, people were on their best behaviour. With one or two exceptions.

“Fuck Stark, you’ve got the most gorgeous taste in boytoys.” A slurred voice made Tony wince and he wiggled to avoid the arm that was about to be flung over his shoulders.

The man did not take the hint, but openly leered at Loki.

“Zachary. I thought you were on vacation? And he’s not my boytoy. Go bother someone else or crawl back under the rock you appeared from.” The smell of alcohol was making Tony nauseous.

“Ah, come on be a pal and share. Hmm, he looks kind of familiar…”

“You were asked to leave. Leave.” Loki’s silky voice barely concealed the menace underneath.

“But I just arrived and-” Zach stopped and his face turned green. “Excuse me.” he hurried away.

Tony snorted and whispered to Loki. “I hope you gave him some nasty bug.”

“Not really. He could do with cooling down, don’t you agree?”

“And what did you cool down? Or am I better off not knowing.”

Loki smiled.

The unpleasant little encounter hadn’t spoiled their mood. The box was exclusively theirs alone, even though it would have seated more than two people. Loki was watching everything and everyone and his face showed his appreciation. Tony enjoyed watching the openly happy god.

Then the light was toned down to nearly nothing, the curtain opened and the torture, pardon, music began. Tony distracted himself by imagining how some high-tech holograms could have been used to pep up the production, but he had to admit, it wasn’t that bad, the one he had endured for Pep had been worse. Something Germanic as well about trist and sold?

Then he nearly shrieked himself because Loki had pressed his mouth against Tony’s ear. “I was warned, but you really do not like this?”

“I do not understand the appeal.” Tony whispered back and watched a girl named Tamina, - according to the overhead translation - stumble around some painfully fake rocks. The music swelled and he reached for his new phone.

“I believe I can change that.” Loki sounded so amused, Tony felt the hair in his neck stand up.

“Ehm?”

The now familiar feel of magic had him turn his head. Loki was sitting beside him, but there was a flicker, a shadow. Loki winked, grinned and put one elbow on the balustrade, rested his chin in his hand and stared at the stage.

Tamina was talking to some witches, a crescent moon (not very convincing either) floated from the ceiling with another woman seated in it.

A touch at his waist had Tony look down. And stare. Because in front of him, pressing his thighs apart to make room, was a second Loki. The real one, because he was touching Tony without dissolving. And the gleam in his green eyes was unique too.

“Oh.”

“Look to the front, I only created a thin veil so nobody will see what we are doing. Enjoy.”

The music swelled up, drums like thunder rolled and the woman on stage opened her mouth and clear, enraged words swept over the audience, startling the younger figure she was addressing into cowering before the Queen of the Night. The tugs on Tony’s belt matched the deepest drums. The first incredible high climb in pitch lasted as long as it took for his zipper to be pulled down.

The queen had spent her initial verve and was now beseeching, beguiling but only for a few short moments, then the anger was back in face of the girl’s doubting gestures, climbing high and higher.

And Loki’s mouth…

Every peak in pitch, every dip.

By the time the dagger was in the hands of Tamina, Tony had trouble keeping his breath under control and when the queen made her final demand, he shuddered and closed his eyes, which made the last notes and words only more intense.

“Fuck.” He whispered.

“Not here, but I’m not adverse to a long night in bed after this wonderful opera is over. I hope I could help you gain a deeper understanding? Wasn’t the aria simply delicious?”

“She was singing about killing her former husband!”

Loki licked over the corner of his mouth and shrugged his shoulders, then directed his attention back to the stage, smug as can be. “It was you who told me to look up la petite mort.”

Tony decided that everyone would be so disappointed if he behaved perfectly, he couldn’t have that, and pulled Loki over for a kiss.

The End

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've enjoyed the story. I'm leaving the fandom but I did not want to leave you hanging.


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